ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday had a word of advice for the Punjab police: `Do not embark upon unnecessary litigation for claiming outof-turn promotions`.

`We once again reiterate that police are a disciplined force and officials/ officers employed in the police should not embark upon unnecessary litigation such as claiming out-of-turn promotions,` said a 14-page judgement authored by Justice Amir Hani Muslim, who reached superannuation on March 30, in his last verdict.

`However, if police officers have any genuine grievance, they can raise the same to the concerned forums that the law provides instead of initiating proceedings before the high court under Article 199 of the Constitution,` Justice Muslim observed.

The judgement came in a case that emanated out of two Supreme Court verdicts delivered in 2013 in contempt proceedings against the Sindh chief secretary and in the Ali Azhar Khan Baloch case in 2015. The Supreme Court in both cases had declared that the concept of out-of-turn promotions was unconstitutional and against the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution.

Under the court orders, the copies of the two judgements were sent to the chief secretaries of the four provinces and the secretary of the establishmentdivision for streamlining the service structure.

Subsequently, an appeal came before the court in January last year and it ordered that all out-of-turn promotions granted to police personnel on gallantry awards or otherwise be undone within four weeks and their seniority re-fixed with their batchmates in terms of the directive issued in the two judgements.

This order too was challenged by a number of Punjab police officers.

On March 20, the inspector general of police, Punjab, submitted a report to the SC explaining that notices had been issued to all officers who had been granted out-of-turn promotions.

But the Punjab home department objected to the IG`s report, claiming that certain out-of-turn promotions were judicially protected since the officers had been granted promotions by various judicial forums.

However, the Supreme Court concluded the matter by upholding the viewpoint of the IG.

Justice Muslim acknowledged that the IG had looked at each case of out-ofturn promotions.

`The matters of seniority should be settled or determined by the designated competent authority and, if any official or officer has any reservation, he can prefer a representation to the designated authority and if he/she is still not satisfied then an appeal can be filed before the Punjab Service Tribunal,` Justice Muslim explained.`The Article 212 of the Constitution categorically mandates that such a tribunal has exclusive jurisdiction with regard to all matters relating to terms and conditions of police service.

`However, an appeal against the tribunal`s decision can be entertained by the Supreme Court provided it involves a substantial question of law of public importance,` the judge said.

`But these officials/officers of the police were recommended for out-ofturn promotions either by their superiors or claimed these promotions because similarly placed persons were given such promotions. The recommendations were either not accepted by the competent authority (IG) or they were disregarded.

`They, therefore, proceeded to file a petition in the high court,` Justice Muslim said, adding that the high court had no jurisdiction to entertain such petitions under Article 199, let alone issuing writs of the nature that had beenissued.

`If at all the said petitioners were aggrieved by not receiving out-of-turn promotions, they should have followed the stipulated legal path,` the judgement said.

In the end, Justice Muslim said that the report of the IG should be acted upon and notifications with regard to withdrawing the out-of-turn promotions be immediately issued and `compliance report in this regard be submitted for our perusal in the chambers within 10 days`.