Srinagar: The J&K High Court on Friday ordered appointment of 151 wireless assistants as constables on regular basis in Jammu and Kashmir Police.
The division bench comprising Chief Justice N Kotiswar Singh and Justice Puneet Gupta while disposing of a string of appeals against recruitment for the posts of Constables (Operators), and Wireless Assistants in Jammu and Kashmir Police, also ordered appointment of 63 appellants as Wireless Assistants against the resultant 151 vacant posts.
The order is, however, subject to their suitability and attainment of the benchmark of the performance in the recruitment process pursuant to the advertisement of March 2007.
The petitioners were earlier appointed as Constables (Operator) and their services were subsequently terminated in terms of the common judgment and an order of 2014. They were afterwards appointed as wireless assistants vide order dated 10 May, 2018.
The Central Administrative Tribunal in May 2021 however, set aside their appointments as wireless assistants. Later on writ petitions were filed against the CAT order.
Meanwhile a number of appellants were initially appointed as Constables (Operator) based on a merit list (district-wise). Their appointments were agitated by the private respondents on the ground that appointments to these posts were to be made on the basis of the select list prepared at the state level and not by preparing district-wise select list.
The division bench in its verdict today said “the appellants 151 and who are presently serving as Wireless Assistants, shall forthwith be appointed as Constables (Operator) on regular basis by adjusting against the 170 (one hundred seventy) vacant posts of Constables (Operator) and their appointments shall be given effect notionally from the date they were initially appointed as Constables (Operator), without any back wages.”
It further said that the services of those persons who are already appointed as Constables (Operator) after the services of the appellants were terminated vide an order of 2017 will remain undisturbed.
“They will be en-bloc senior to the appellants in the LPAs (appeals) as the seniority of the Constables (Operator) should be based on the state level merit list which was prepared in terms of the direction issued by the Single Judge in the impugned judgment and order dated 09.05.2014 ….as this would truly reflect the comparative merit of the candidates, irrespective of the fact that they may be appointed on different dates and in different districts,” said the bench.
In order to avoid any imminent lawsuit, the judges directed the respondents “to clarify the status/position of the ‘Constable (Operator)’ as regards ‘Constable’ as provided in the J&K Police Rules, 1960.”
The bench directed “the private respondents who have continued to pursue their claim till now, stated to be numbering 63, shall be appointed as Wireless Assistants against the resultant 151 (one hundred fifty-one) vacant posts of Wireless Assistants, subject to their suitability and on attaining the benchmark in terms of the performance in the recruitment process pursuant to the advertisement dated 09.03.2007, as may be decided by the appointing authority within a period of one month from today.”
