Two Inspector General of Police (IGP) rank officers in Haryana have stated that IPS officers in the state are falling behind in promotions when compared to officers in other states’ police forces.
In a letter to state DGP P K Agrawal, Amitabh Dhillon and Sanjay Kumar, both from the Haryana cadre’s 1997 batch, highlighted a “delay” in their promotions and urged the DGP to conduct a “expedited examination of the matter.”
Dhillon is currently IGP (Modernisation), whereas Kumar is IGP (Administration) with the added responsibility of IGP (Law and Order).
According to sources, while Agrawal has suggested that both officers be promoted to the rank of ADGP, the departmental promotion committee (DPC) has yet to make a final decision.
Dhillon and Kumar addressed a letter to Agrawal in February this year, noting that other states and union territories in the country, except Haryana, have already promoted their batch from IGP to ADGP.
According to Dhillon and Kumar, on January 1, 2022, the 1997 batch of Indian Police Service officers will be eligible for promotion to the rank of ADGP. “On January 1, 2023, the 1998 batch of IPS officers also became eligible for promotion and has been promoted in 17 of 26 cadres of IPS officers,” the IPS officers added.
To bolster their case, the officers compared the promotions of IPS officers in the ranks of IGP, ADGP, and DGP in 26 states and the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadres. The two Haryana cadre IPS officers stated in their comparative chart of promotions to the DGP, “Haryana cadre (of IPS officers) is thus lagging in promotions when compared to other state cadres.”
“Discussion with senior officers on the reasons for the delay in promotion has revealed a certain ambiguity regarding the interpretation of rules applicable for fixing of cadre strength, creation of posts and promotion in IPS.”
Dhillon and Kumar also reminded about a provision under rules which is “meant to be invoked for increasing the number of posts with a particular designation already included in the cadre schedule”.
The strength of the Haryana IPS cadre is fixed at 144 under the IPS (fixation of cadre strength) Regulations, 1955. This includes as many as 79 cadre posts, apart from the ex-cadre posts. Ex-cadre posts are temporary posts of the same rank as cadre posts and are created by the state government.
In the letter, Dhillon and Kumar said: “The Rule 12 of IPS (pay) Rules, 2016, provides for unfettered powers to the state government to create ex-cadre posts within the overall authorised strength. The exact composition of ex-cadre posts at each level is not specified in the rules which allows the state government the requisite amount of administrative flexibility.”
The IPS officers confessed that the IPS (pay) Rules, 2016, demand the Central Government’s prior approval before promoting IPS officers to the level of selection grade and above.
They did, however, say that “this provision was introduced with effect from September 23, 2016, and it is learnt that the same has not been implemented till date for all three AIS (All India Services—IAS, IPS, and IFS) in the state.” “Any delay in seeking such approval cannot be attributed to the officers whose promotions are being jeopardised by the same,” they noted.
On his part, Agrawal in a communication to the state home department in March mentioned Dhillon and Kumar fulfil the condition for promotion to the rank of ADGP.
Seeking a meeting of the departmental promotion committee for assessing the suitability of both officers at an early date, Agrawal also pointed out that “1997 batch IPS officers, wherever available, have been promoted to the rank of ADGP in all cadres of IPS, barring Haryana”.
