CRPF personnel to get rank of Inspector after 9 years of retirement following Delhi HC order
New Delhi, May 20
A CRPF personnel will get the rank of Inspector 9 years after his retirement in 2017. Though eligible for promotion, he could not get it due to an incomplete record in 2017 before his retirement as a Sub-Inspector.
Thereafter, in 2021, he moved to the Delhi High Court to get his honour. He did not pray for any financial benefits.
Respondent CRPF and others did not dispute that the Petitioner Rajbir's name was not included in the list of promoted officers due to the unavailability of a complete service record, even though he was entitled to promotion on August 17, 2017, before he demitted office.
The division bench of justices Anil Kshetrapal and Amit Mahajan directed that the rank of Inspector be given to Rajbir.
"In such circumstances, as the Petitioner is only praying for the grant of rank without any financial consequences, this Court considers it apposite to direct the Respondents to grant the rank of Inspector to the petitioner since August 17, 2017, within eight weeks," the division bench ordered on May 15.
After joining the CRPF as a Constable on June 27, 1983, Rajbir demitted Office upon acceptance of his request for the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) with effect from August 31, 2017.
It was not disputed that he was entitled to promotion along with other officials on August 17, 2017, for the post of Inspector. However, since his record was not complete, no order for promotion was passed till September 22, 2017, and in the meantime, he demitted office, the High Court noted.
Advocate KK Sharma appeared for Rajbir and argued that although he was eligible for the promotion to the rank of Inspector, his name was not included in the list of promoted officers.
Petitioner's counsel submitted that it happened due to the reason that his ACR was not recieved from his previous battalion after his transfer. However, as per the rule, the ACR and complete service records should have reached the battalion within 15 days after retirement from the previous battalion.
The counsel for respondents did not dispute this fact.
It was stated that the petitioner qualified for the Inspector promotional course from September to November 2013. Thereafter was transferred from battalion no. 231 to 41 in December 2015. His name was included in the seniority list published on December 1, 2015.
However, his name was included in the list of promoted officers published on August 17, 2017. On August 31, 2017, the petitioner took VRS.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Good verdict but this highlights a systemic problem. How many more Rajbirs are out there whose promotions got stuck due to incomplete records? The CRPF needs to fix their administration, especially when officers transfer between battalions. ACRs shouldn't be lost in transit for 15 years! 😤
Respect to Rajbir ji for not asking for financial benefits. He just wanted his due recognition. Salute to our CRPF personnel who sacrifice so much for the nation, even after retirement they fight for basic dignity. The court did well. 🙏
Seems like a fair decision. If he was eligible on paper before retirement, denying the rank just because paperwork got delayed is unreasonable. Interesting that the CRPF didn't even dispute the facts—so this was clearly an administrative lapse. Good on the High Court for stepping in.
I'm glad the court gave him the rank, but I wish they'd also address the root cause. Why does a simple transfer of records take so long? Our paramilitary forces have enough challenges without internal red tape. Hope this case pushes CRPF to digitize their ACR system—no more lost files! 💪
Heartwarming that he only wanted the rank, not money. Shows the mentality of our forces—pride in service above all. But also frustrating: after 34 years of service, to be denied promotion because someone else didn't send a file on time? The system needs serious overhaul. 👏 Still, happy ending for Rajbir.
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