Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh High Court has raised significant concerns about the appointment of Himachal Pradesh Police Service (HPPS) officers to Indian Police Service (IPS) cadre posts, calling these appointments a violation of the IPS Cadre Rules. The court’s remarks came during a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in 2024 seeking reforms in the state’s police force.
A division bench of Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Justice Sushil Kukreja observed that the appointments of HPPS officers as Superintendents of Police (SPs) in Sirmour and Baddi were in violation of IPS Cadre Rules 8 and 9, which mandate that IPS posts must be filled by IPS officers only. The bench referred to a Kerala High Court judgment and pointed out the illegality of such appointments by the state government.
The case revolves around the appointments of Rajesh Dhiman, an HPPS officer, as SP Baddi, and Nischint Negi, another HPPS officer, as SP Sirmour. These posts, as per the state’s IPS Civil List, are supposed to be held by IPS officers.
In addition to the cadre violations, the bench discussed police welfare reforms and suggested implementing directives from a 2018 Uttarakhand High Court judgment aimed at improving the welfare and efficiency of the police. These directives include eight-hour duty shifts, extra salary for strenuous duties, and the establishment of a dedicated welfare corpus for police personnel.
The bench also recommended highway patrol units under District SPs for traffic enforcement and accident response, mobile forensic labs for each district, and police housing improvements to enhance morale and efficiency. Furthermore, the court called for Special Courts for NDPS crimes and an overhaul of the Intelligence Division.
The court has directed the state police to submit a compliance report by the next hearing, scheduled for June 3, 2025.
