Dead persons too get promotions now!

Serving and retired police officials dismayed over some GOs issued by government recently. An officer who retired as a DSP some ten years ago has now been given notional seniority as an Additional SP.

August 31, 2014 09:55 pm | Updated June 13, 2016 07:04 am IST - HYDERABAD:

A faux pas in a Government order can be condoned, but when it starts giving promotions to persons who breathed their last a decade ago, what does one say?

Serving and retired police officers are dismayed over some Government Orders issued last month which have several bloopers. They had not only given notional promotions to the dead and gone, but also to those who resigned and to an officer who left the country after he was convicted for taking a bribe!

The hurry for issuing these orders conferring notional seniority to different levels of police officers was a Supreme Court order on a contempt petition filed against the Government. With the direction to complete the promotion process, the Andhra Pradesh government went ahead and issued notional seniorities to different levels of officers, but inexplicably, names of several officers who were no more were also found in different orders issued.

Court cases soon?

The conferring of notional seniorities has raised the spectre of several more cases being filed in courts, with those promoted but now retired contemplating moving the courts for retirement benefits. For example, an officer who retired as a DSP some ten years ago has now been given notional seniority as an Additional SP. Hence he would now be eligible for revision of his pension and if the government does not pay him more, there is no option but to move the court, says a retired officer.

The Government Orders (No 116, 120, 123, 124 and 125) issued in July, 2014 by the Home Department also have several bloopers, say many police officers. First, the notional promotions accorded to officers as DSPs, Additional SPs and non-cadre SPs are invalid as they have not been ratified by the Public Service Commissions and the Departmental Promotion Committees (DPCs), argue some officers.

Gaffes galore

Second, the list of officers who were given notional promotions includes those who died. For example, T. Sathaiah, who was an ACP of Chatrinaka, was shot dead by a constable in December 1990 when communal riots rocked Hyderabad. Sathiah is now notionally promoted as an Additional SP from 1994 and as a non-cadre SP from 2000. Similarly, an inspector of police trapped by the ACB while working in a police station in the South Zone, convicted and dismissed from service, was given notional promotion in one of the orders.

Some retired officers recalled that those were dead but now promoted include R. Seshadri Reddy (killed in a road accident in 1982) who has been made Additional SP from 1988 and non-cadre SP from 1995; Mohammed Zahooruddin (died in 1990) promoted as non-cadre SP from 1993; B. Malla Reddy (killed in road accident in 1989), now promoted as Additional SP from 1997; G. Venkataramudu (died in 1983) promoted as Additional SP from 1985; Hussain (resigned as inspector in 1996), but now promoted as DSP from 1999; Badiullah (died) promoted in 2000 as DSP; Sudhaman Rao (died in 1998) promoted as Addl. SP from 2005; Homi Ardesh (dead in 1996) as Addl. SP from 2000; P. Chokka Rao (killed in accident in 1991) promoted as Addl. SP from 1998.

Strange silence

Interestingly, the GOs also do not mention anything about some direct recruit DSPs. These DSP direct recruits have retired and they should have also been considered for notional seniorities and those living could get some financial benefits. “I fail to fathom how the government issued orders with such bloopers,” says a retired police officer who plans to move the court on the fresh orders.

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