Civil Appeal Nos 1286 1287 and 2511 of 1969 From the Judgment and Order dated 20 8 1968 and 3 4 1969 of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Civil Writ Nos80066 262565 and LPA No 141 of 1969
Harbans Singh and R N Sachthey for the Appellant in all the appeals
E C Agarwala and M L Srivastava for the Respondent in CA 128669
406 HK Puri for the Respondent in C A 128769 N N Keswani for the Respondent in CA 251169 The Judgment of the Court was delivered by SHINGHAL J
These three appeals by certificates granted by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana are directed against two judgments of that court dated August 20 1966 and another judgment of that court dated November 22 1968
The High Court first decided the writ petition of constable Dwarka Das which is the subject matter of appeal No1286 of 1969 and disposed of the other two writ petitions which are the subject matter of appeals Nos 1287 and 2511 of 1969 on the basis of that judgment
These three appeals therefore Raise common questions of law and have been heard together at the request of learned counsel for the parties and will be disposed of by a common judgment The writ petitioners in all the three cases were recruited as constables in the police force of the Punjab State
It is not in dispute before us that i they were police officers of the State ii they were enrolled as police officers iii they had put in more than three years service after their recruitment and enrolment as police officers and iv they were discharged under the provisions of rule 1221 of the Punjab Police Rules 1934 hereinafter referred to as the Rules and not by way of punishment under the provisions of Chapter XVI of the Rules
No attempt has been made to distinguish one case from the others on facts
On the other hand learned counsel for the parties are in agreement that the facts of the three cases are quite similar and they raise the common question of law whether the orders of discharge were valid
The respondents challenged the validity of those orders by writ petitions which were allowed by the impugned judgments of the High Court and the three appeals are before us for that reason
It has been argued by Mr Harbans Singh on behalf of the appellant State that even though the respondents had put in more than three years service as police officers of the State Government their appointments were temporary and could be terminated for that reason even if the termination could not strictly be said to fall within the purview of rule 1221 of the Rules
that in fact is the only question II for consideration in these appeals and can easily be answered with reference to the provisions of the  hereinafter refer red to as the Act and the Rules
407 Section 1 of the Act defines Police to include all persons who A shall be enrolled under it
Section 2 provides that the entire police establishment under the State Government shall be deemed to be one police force and shall be formally enrolled
It further provides that the conditions of service of the members of the subordinate ranks of the police force shall be such as may be determined by the State Government
Section 8 is also relevant for it expressly provides that every police officer appointed to the police force of the State other than an officer mentioned in section 4 shall receive on his appointment a certificate in the form annexed to the Act by virtue of which he shall be vested with the powers functions and privileges of a police officer
The certificate states that the police officer concerned has been appointed a member of the police force under the Act and vested with the powers
functions and privileges of a police officer
The certificate is not therefore the order of appointment or enrolment but is subsequent to the appointment and the enrolment even though it is a part of the process of appointment and enrolment in as much as it certifies that the police officer has been vested with the necessary powers functions and privileges of a police officer
The certificate does not however have any bearing on the question whether its holder is a permanent or a temporary police officer for that is a matter which has to be governed by the other conditions of his service
It is not in dispute before us that such certificates were issued to all the three respondents and that they functioned as police officers for more than three years
Chapter XII of the Rules deals with the appointment and enrolment of police officers
Clause 3 of rule 122
provides inter alia as follows 3 All appointments of enrolled police officers are on probation according to the rules in this chapter applicable to each rank
 It is therefore obvious that as the respondents were enrolled police officers they were on probation
The period of probation has not been specified in the Rules but rule 1221 provides for the discharge of an inefficient police officer as follows 1221
A constable who is found unlikely to prove an efficient police officer may be discharged by the Superintendent at any time within three years of enrolment
There shall be no appeal against an order of discharge under this rule
 408 So if rules 1223 and 1221 are read together it will appear that the maximum period of probation in the case of 3 police officer of the rank of constable is three years for the Superintendent OF Police concerned has the power to discharge him within that period
It follows that the power of discharge cannot be exercised under rule 1221 after the expiry of the period of three years
If therefore it is proposed to deal with an inefficient police officer after the expiry of that period it is necessary to do so in accordance with the rules of Chapter XVI of the Rules which makes provision for the imposition of various punishments including dismissal from the police force
It is not permissible to ignore those rules and make a simple order of discharge under rule 1221 after the expiry of the period of three years for that will attract article 311 of the Constitution
The Superintendent of Police concerned could not have ignored that requirement of the law and terminated the services of the three respondents after the expiry of the period of three years from their enrolment in the police force of the State
The High Court therefore rightly set aside the orders of termination of the services of the three respondents and to that extent the impugned judgments are correct
But we are constrained to say that it was not justified in holding that a constable who has obtained a certificate under rule 1222 cannot be dealt with under rule 1221 and that if he is to be removed from service procedure prescribed in Chapter XVI has to be followed
 The reason is that as has been shown the certificate prescribed under rule 1222 is meant to serve the purpose of section 8 of the Act by vesting a police officer with the powers functions and privileges of a police officer and has to be issued on his appointment as such
The certificate is thus a letter of authority and enables the police officer concerned to enter upon his duties as a police officer
It has to be granted almost from the inception when a person is appointed and enrolled as police officer and it is not correct to say that the mere issue of the certificate puts its holder beyond the reach of rule 1221 even if it is found that he is unlikely to prove an efficient police officer and has not completed the period of three years after his enrolment
Except for this slight clarification we find no merit in these appeals and they are dismissed with costs
MR Appeals dismissed


Summary:
The respondent writ petitioners were constables of the Punjab State Government and had put in more than 3 years service when they were discharged for inefficiency under Rule 1221 of the Punjab Police Rules 1934
the High Court allowed their writ petitions challenging the validity of their discharge orders
It was contended by the State that although the respondents had put in more than three years service their appointments were temporary and could be terminated for that reason even if the termination could not strictly b said to fall within the purview of rule 1221
Dismissing the appeal
the Court  HELD If rules 1223 and 1221 are read together it will appear that the maximum period of probation in the case of a police officer of the rank of constable is three years and the power of discharge cannot be exercised under rule 1221 after expiry of that period
If it is proposed to deal with an inefficient police officer after the expiry of three years it is necessary to do so in accordance with the rules of Chapter XVI of the Rules which makes provision for the imposition of various punishments including dismissal from the police force
408A B The High Court was not justified in holding that a constable who had obtained a certificate under rule 1232 cannot be dealt with under rule 1221 Ihat certificate is meant to serve the purpose of section 8 of the Police Act
1861 by vesting a public officer with the powers functions and privileges of a police officer and has to be issued on his appointment as such
The certificate is a letter of authority and enables the police officer to enter upon his duties as a police officer
It has to be granted almost From the inception and it is not correct to say what the mere issue of the certificate puts its holder beyond the reach of rule 1221 even if it is found that he is unlikely to prove an efficient police officer and has not completed the period of three years of his enrolment
408D G