TMI Blog1987 (1) TMI 497X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in force in Delhi) made under the Police Act, 1861 would be in solar as they were consistent with the Act be deemed to have been respectively made under the Act. Accordingly the Punjab Police Rules, 1934 as in force in Delhi which had been enacted under the Police Act, 1861 continued to be in force even after the commencement of the Act. Chapter 12 of the Punjab Police Rules, 1934 contained the rules relating to the appointments and enrolments of Assistant Superintendents of Police, Deputy Superintendents of Police, Inspectors, Sergeants, Assistant Sub-Inspectors, Range Auditors, Head Constables and Constables. Recruitment to the cadre of Constables was done under rules 12.12 to 12.22 of the Punjab Police Rules, 1934. Rules 12.14 and 12.15 dealt with the status of the recruits, the qualifications, age and the physicial standards which the recruits had to satisfy. Rules 12.14 and 12.15 of the Punjab Police Rules, 1934 read as follows: 12.14. Recruits--Status of. (1) Recruits shall be of good character and great care shall be taken in selecting men of a type suitable for police service from candidates present- ing themselves for enrolment. (2) The enlistment in the police of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... power the Administrator (Lt. Governor of the Union territory of Delhi) promulgated the Delhi Police (Appointment and Recruitment) Rules, 1980 (hereinafter referred to as the Rules ) providing for the appointments of Inspectors, Sub-Inspectors, Assistant Sub-Inspectors, Head Constables and Constables. Rule 9 of the Rules laid down the procedure for the recruitment of the Constables. The said rule, as it was originally promulgated, read as follows: 9. Recruitment of Constables.-Delhi being a cosmopolitan city, it is imperative to attract candidates from all parts of the country. (ii) The recruitment of constables shall be done twice a year in the months of January and July by the Board to be nominated by Commissioner of Police as per rule 8. (iii) The Commissioner of Police may also order special recruitment at any time if there are sufficient number of vacancies and the panels prepared earlier have exhausted. (iv) A panel shall be drawn up of selected candidates on the basis of existing and anticipated vacancies. This panel shall be valid till the next recruitment is held. (v) Physical, educational, age and other standards for recruitment to the rank of constables ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he may, by order, for reasons to be recorded in writing, relax any of the provisions of these Rules with respect to any class, category, or persons or posts or in an individual case. As stated at the commencement, this appeal arises out of the writ petition bearing no. C.W .P. No. 1891 of 1982 on the file of the High Court of Delhi filed under Article 226 of the Constitution. The said writ petition was filed by 23 petitioners, who were applicants for the posts of Constables in the Delhi Police Force governed by the Act. They prayed for the issue of a writ to the Delhi Administration to appoint them as Constables and for other consequential reliefs. None of them was fully qualified to be recruited as a Constable under the Rules. But being the sons of Delhi policemen, they depended upon an order date 3.10.1981 passed by the Deputy Commissioner of Police Headquarters (I) Delhi under which he had relaxed the rules relating to the qualifications in favour of the sons or wards of Delhi policemen. The relevant part of the said order dated 3.10.1981 reads thus: The wards of Delhi policemen should be given the following concessions in age, educational qualifications and physical st ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t had been passed on the assumption that rule 12.14(3) of the Punjab Police Rules, 1934 was in force on the date on which it was passed but in fact the said rule stood repealed on the coming into force of the Rules on 31.12.1980 framed under section 147 of the Act and (ii) under rule 30 of the Rules relaxation of quali- fications could be made by the Administrator (Lt. Governor) not by the Deputy Commissioner of Police. The Delhi Adminis- tration further alleged that Standing Order No. 2 12 of 198 1 had been issued in connection with the recruitment of Constables in Delhi Police and clause 10 of the said Stand- ing Order No. 212 read as follows: 10. RELAXATION: (i) No relaxation in qualifications/standards mentioned in this Standing Order shall be given except in the cases and manner as laid down in the Delhi Police (Appointment and Recruitment) Rules, 1980. (iii) Children of Police officers of subordinate rank serving or those who die in office will be granted 5 marks in the written test as bonus. Relaxation in other standards will not be given excepting with the sanction of competent authority. ' ' Standing Order No. 212 of 1981 referred to above was further ame ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... omulgation of the Rules which came into force on 31.12. 1980 and the cases of the appellants were protected by the relaxation order dated 3.10.1981 issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Police and the fact that any of the brothers of the appellants had been appointed earlier under the cover of similar order of relaxation did not disentitle the appellants to claim the benefit of the order of relaxation. The learned Judge was, therefore, of the view that the appellants were entitled to be appointed as Constables. Since two of the appellants had already been sent for training under the two letters of relaxation issued in their favour the learned Judge issued a writ directing the Delhi Administration to send the remaining 21 candidates also for training and to appoint them as Constables after the completion of their training. Aggrieved by the decision of the learned Single Judge the Union of India and the Delhi Administration filed an appeal before the Division Bench of the High Court in Letters Patent Appeal No. 157 of 1983. The Division Bench held that on the promulgation of the Rules with effect from 31.12.1980, rule 12.14(3) of the Punjab Police Rules, 1934 which dealt with the s ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... g the relevant Punjab Police Rules, 1934 alive after December 31, 1980. We are of the view that the Division Bench was right in accepting the plea urged on behalf of the Delhi Administration in this regard. Section 149(2) of the Act no doubt provided that the rules framed under the Police Act of 1861 would continue to be in force after the Act came into force in so far as they were consistent with the Act but at the same time section 147 of the Act authorised the Administrator (Lt. Governor of the Union territory of Delhi) to make rules regarding recruitment to, and the pay, allowances and all other conditions of service of the members of the Delhi Police under clause (b) of section 5. It is not disputed that rule 12.14 and rule 12.15 of the Punjab Police Rules, 1934 and the rules promulgated on December 31,1980 dealt with the identical subject, name- ly, the appointment and recruitment of Constables to the Delhi police service. Therefore, on the promulgation of the Rules on December 31, 1980 which covered the subject dealt with by rule 12.14 and rule 12.15 of the Punjab Police Rules, 1934 had the effect of repealing by necessary impli- cation rule 12.14 and rule 12.15 of the Punja ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nconstitutional on the coming into force of the Constitution. Clauses (1) and (2) of Article 16 of the Constitution which are material for this case read thus:- 16. (1) There shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment or ap- pointment to any office under the State. (2) No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of them, be ineligible. for, or discriminated against in respect of, any employment or office under the State. While it may be permissible to appoint a person who is the son of a police officer who dies in service or who is incapacitated while rendering service in the Police Department, a provision which confers a preferential fight to appointment on the children or wards or other relatives of the police officers either in service or retired merely because they happen to be children or wards or other relatives of such police officers would be contrary to Article 16 of the Constitution. Opportunity to get into public service should be extended to all the citizens equally and should not be confined to any extent to the descendants or relatives of a person already ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ent' as one of the prohibited grounds of discrimination, whareas Art. 16 does. We do not see any reason why the full ambit of the fundamental right guaranteed by Art. 16 in the matter of employment or ap- pointment to any office under the State should be cut down by a reference to the provisions in Part XIV of the Consti- tution which relate to Services or to provisions in the earlier Constitution Acts relating to the same subject (Pages 940--941). There can be no doubt that s.6(1) of the Act does embody a principle of discrimination on the ground of de- scent only. It says that in choosing the person to fill the new offices, the Collector shall select the persons whom he may consider the best qualified from among the families of the last holders of the offices which have been abolished. This, in our opinion, is discrimination on the ground of descent only and is in contravention of Art. 16(2) of the Constitution. (Pages 946--947). We are of opinion that the claim made by the appellants for the relaxation of the Rules in their cases only because they happen to be the wards or children or relatives of the police officers has got to be negatived since their claim is based ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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