The Rajasthan High Court on Monday issued a stern warning to the state government regarding the training of Sub-Inspectors (SI) under the 2021 recruitment process. The court emphasised that the state must adhere to the status quo order issued on November 18, or face contempt of court charges. The controversy arose after the police headquarters ordered that trainee SIs be sent for field training, a decision that was challenged in court.
The court expressed its displeasure, questioning how the government could issue such orders after the November 18 status quo order.
“This is a clear contempt of court,” the judge remarked.
Government Defends Actions Amidst Court Order
The government, represented by Advocate General Rajendra Prasad, explained that an investigation into the matter was underway. The state mentioned that there are around 800 trainee SIs, and while there might have been some errors, it was difficult to halt training for all. The court granted the government two days to present its response, with a hearing scheduled for Thursday.
The issue surfaced when the Police Recruitment and Promotion Board, led by ADG Vipin Kumar Pandey, issued orders directing all 2021 trainee SIs to be sent to districts for practical training. This led to over 40 trainee SIs filing applications in court, stating that they had left other government jobs to join the force, had passed the exams honestly, and should not be prevented from training. These trainees were included as parties in the case, and their lawyers, Suresh Parikh and Tanveer Ahmad, represented their interests.
One of the petitioners, Kailash Chand Sharma, filed a stay application, arguing that despite the court’s status quo order, the government was not complying with it. The petitioners’ lawyer, Harendra Neel, pointed out that the government had failed to respond to the court within the allowed two-week timeframe and had instead issued orders to send the trainee SIs for field training, violating the court’s orders.
Earlier, on November 18, the Rajasthan High Court had imposed a stay on the posting of selected SIs from the 2021 recruitment process. The court also halted the passing-out parade of trainee SIs, maintaining the status quo on the recruitment until the case was fully resolved. Justice Sameer Jain, who presided over the case, instructed the government to clarify its stance on the matter, but it had yet to provide a satisfactory response.
Before the hearing, the police department had already suspended 20 trainee SIs. The suspensions were part of the ongoing investigation into the SOG paper leak case, in which 50 trainee SIs had been arrested, and 25 of them had been released on bail.
