1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN BENCH AT JAIPUR S.B. CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO.5970/94 Bhanwar Singh vs. State & Ors. Date of order : 5/2/2009. HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE MOHAMMAD RAFIQ Shri P.S. Tomar for the petitioner. Shri Zakir Hussain, Addl. Govt. Counsel for the respondents. ****** Heard learned counsel for the parties. This writ petition has been filed by the petitioner challenging the order dated 20.7.1994 by which the respondents replied to his notice for demand of notice who conveyed to him that he was rightly granted gallantry promotion on the post of Head Constable and was promoted as such in accordance with Rule 25(a) of the Rajasthan Police Subordinate Service Rules. Shri P.S. Tomar, learned counsel for the petitioner has contended that the petitioner was initially promoted on ad hoc basis on the post of Head Constable in June, 1976 but he was reverted to the post of Constable in the year 1977 after he had worked as such only for 14 months as a Head Constable. Even though it was an ad hoc promotion, but it was duly approved by competent authority. 2 Learned counsel cited the example of Jagdish Singh, who according to him was placed at S.No.42 in the merit prepared in 1966, in which name of petitioner was placed at S.No.40 and the candidates out of that list were promoted. The petitioner was deliberately transferred from Agartalla to Jaipur and behind his back Jagdish Singh, who was at S.No.42 was promoted in 1979. It was prayed that the petitioner should have been promoted Head Constable in 1979 and on that basis he should have been granted further promotion on the post of Platoon Commander as a gallantry promotion. Shri Zakir Hussain, learned Additional Government Counsel opposed the writ petition and submitted that initial promotion granted to the petitioner was withdrawn and he was reverted because name of petitioner was mentioned at S.No.40, but only 33 posts of Head Constables were vacant and as such by order dated 1.8.1977, 33 were promoted from the approved list vide order dated 27.7.1977. The petitioner and other persons who were granted ad hoc promotion had to be therefore reverted. As regards, Jagdish 3 Singh, it was submitted that Jagdish Singh was initially promoted on ad hoc basis in 1980, but subsequently, he passed and was regularly promoted on the post of Head Constable. The case of the petitioner is distinguished from that of Jagdish Singh. It is submitted that the petitioner did not challenge the promotion of Jagdish Singh, either he was promoted on ad hoc basis in 1980 and when he was regularly promoted. It was argued that the writ petition filed in 1994 cannot be entertained having been filed with enormous delay. Moreover, the promotion granted in 1977 to the petitioner on the post of Head Constable was also not challenged by him till he filed the writ petition. Having heard the learned counsel for the parties and perusing the impugned order, I find no explanation why petitioner, when Jagdish Singh was promoted in 1980 on ad hoc basis and in 1984 on regular basis, did not question his promotion and why did he assail the same after such an enormous delay. The promotion by way of gallantry award is to be made only on the next higher post. The 4 petitioner is seeking that he should be straight away promoted on the post of Platoon Commander which according to the respondents was a higher post than the Head Constable. That would amount to virtually allowing two promotions to the petitioner, which is not warranted under Rule 25(a) of the Rules. Besides this, the petitioner has not given any proper justification why he should be granted higher salary than that of Jagdish Singh, particularly when Jagdish Singh have been promoted much earlier than him. The question of seniority and that of stepping up of pay would not arise, as such an argument is available only when comparison of pay is made between members of same cadre and when a senior is getting lesser pay than the junior. I do not find any merit in this writ petition, which is accordingly dismissed. (MOHAMMAD RAFIQ), J. RS/