IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Civil Writ Petition (PIL) No.437 of 2008 Date of Decision: 30.01.2009 Harkanwal Preet Singh and another Petitioners Versus The State of Punjab and others Respondents CORAM:- HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE T.S.THAKUR, CHIEF JUSTICE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JASBIR SINGH Present: None for the petitioners Mr.H.S.Sidhu, Addl.A.G. Punjab Jasbir Singh, J. Petitioners are Sarpanches of village Shamsherpur and Bhalonwali, Tehsil Batala, district Gurdaspur, respectively. They have filed this writ petition laying challenge to a notification dated 30.11.2007 (P-1), vide which, their villages, along with five other villages, were transferred from police station Fatehgarh Churian to police station Ghania. It is their case that said change has been effected contrary to the provisions of Punjab Police Rules, 1934. It is their further case that by transfer of villages from territorial jurisdiction of one police station to another police station, the residents will be put to inconvenience and further that the transfer has been made without taking residents of the village(s) into confidence. Prior approval of the government was not obtained before effecting the above said change. They have also alleged that transfer has been made not on administrative ground rather it has been made at the instance of respondent No.7, a local MLA. Their prayer is to quash notification, referred to above. Civil Writ Petition (PIL) No.437 of 2008 2 Upon notice, reply has been filed by respondents No.1 to 4, through Inspector General of Police, Border Range, Amritsar. In reply, it has been stated that before effecting above said change, a proposal, in the form of a draft notification, was prepared by Senior Superintendent of Police, Batala, which was got counter signed from Deputy Commissioner, Gurdaspur, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Border Range, Amritsar and Commissioner, Jalandhar Division, Jalandhar. Thereafter, proposal was sent to Principal Secretary, Punjab Government, Home Affairs and Justice Department, Chandigarh. The proposal was approved and it was notified in gazette notification on 30.11.2007. It has further been stated that the villages have been shifted from one police station to another, for administrative reasons. Political interference has been denied, in doing the above said exercise. Respondents have also brought on record various resolutions passed by many residents of the villages in question, supporting above said order. Some resolutions are signed by Sarpanches and Panches of those villages. After hearing counsel for the parties, we are not inclined to interfere at the instance of the petitioners in this case. As is apparent from the documents on record, distance of villages from police Station Ghania, to which those villages have been transferred, runs between 6.4 kms. to 9 kms. Earlier it was somewhat less. However, that cannot be a ground to order quashing of the notification under challenge. Before effecting the change, almost all the authorities concerned were taken into confidence. Whether one village has to be attached to A police station or B police station, it will be desirable to leave Civil Writ Petition (PIL) No.437 of 2008 3 that matter with the administrative authorities to decide. As per records, residents of the villages, now transferred to police station Ghania, by passing resolutions, have authenticated action of the authorities to do so. In view of facts mentioned above, no case is made out for interference. Dismissed. (JASBIR SINGH) JUDGE 30.01.2009 (T.S.THAKUR) gk CHIEF JUSTICE