The Supreme Court heard plea of Director General of Police (Law and Order) and Director General of Police, (Tamil Nadu Uniform Services, Recruitment Board), who were directed to fix the seniority on par of D.Baskaran with his batchmates in compliance of the order passed by Hon’ble High court of Madras vide order dated 3.06.2020.
D. Baskaran was declared unfit due to the defect in the eye and post-surgery, it was corrected and he got declared fit. Senior advocate V. Giri, appeared for Police Constable, D.Bhaskaran. The Bench of Justice D. Y. Chandrachud and Justice Surya Kant issued notice and decided to stay the directions passed In writ Petition by Madras High Court.
The High court was of the view while allowing the writ filed by D. Baskaran, a police constable that ‘When Grade-II police constable and the Head Constable, who had similar defects were considered and their seniority were fixed, the Director General of Police (Law and Order) and Director General of Police, (Tamil Nadu Uniform Services, Recruitment Board) ought to have considered the case of the D.Baskran also in the light of the same memorandum, while implementing the direction given by this Court’.
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The facts of the case are that D. Baskaran joined as police constable in year 1988 and was selected as a Sub Inspector of police under 20% quota for in-service candidates. In the year 1997 he was selected up to the final stage. As he was wearing spectacles, he was not given the promotion. A medical test was conducted and the Medical Board had recommended that the D.Bhaskaran was fit to work as Sub Inspector of Police with glasses on 23.02.1999.
Though Board opinion was not communicated to the D. Baskaran, later he filed Original Application before the Tamil Nadu Administrative Tribunal. Finally, he succeeded before this Court in W.P.No.19714 of 2004, wherein, the Division Bench, by order dated 04.11.2006 directed the respondents to conduct a fresh medical test for the petitioner by taking into account the certificate issued by the Medical Board.
By then, the appellant got his eye sight corrected and was fit for the post of Sub Inspector of Police without wearing glasses. The SLP filed by the respondents before the Hon’ble Supreme Court was also dismissed on 08.03.2010. Only thereafter, after 12 years, D. Bhaskran was sent for training from 10.06.2011 along with 2010 batch candidates and after completion of the training, he was posted as Sub Inspector of Police (Taluk) on 17.12.2012.
The DGP, Head of Police Force had passed the order dated 19.10.2020 rejecting the claim of the D. Bhaskaran to fix the seniority on par with his 1997-1998 batch mates, giving the reason that once seniority list gets settled, then it cannot be unsettled after a lapse of long time.