‘Take ₹25k from DGP pay for defiance of ’17 order’

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana high court has ordered deduction of Rs 25,000 from the salary of Haryana DGP for non-compliance of an order passed in 2017. The DGP has failed to submit an affidavit pertaining to a case of constable’s recruitment in Haryana police as directed by the court in December 2017.
While adjourning the matter for December 14, the HC has also granted one more opportunity to the DGP to submit an affidavit on HC order of December 6, 2017.
“More time is prayed for to do the needful.The delay in the filing of the affidavit is deprecated. However, in the interest of justice and subject to payment of Rs 25,000 as costs, to be deducted from the salary of the Director General of Police, Haryana, and to be deposited with the Poor Patient Welfare Fund, PGIMER, Chandigarh,” the HC has ordered.
Justice Deepak Sibal passed these orders while hearing a petition filed by Ajay Kumar, a native of Ambala district in Haryana, whose case for recruitment to the post of constable was rejected on medical grounds on account of colour blindness.
However, on the petitioner’s plea, the HC had constituted a board of doctors from PGIMER Chandigarh to examine him. In its detailed report, the board of doctors had stated that the petitioner has 6/6 sight in both eyes, but was able to identify red colour with all sizes of apertures and identify green colour with aperture sizes ‘13mm, 6mm and 3mm at the distance of 5 metre. The board had recommended that he had a lower grade of colour perception, which makes him eligible for employment in non-technical services but not in technical services.
Hearing this, the HC on December 6, 2017, had directed the DGP Haryana to file an application to the concerned authority as to how the petitioner would be ineligible for employment as a constable in the state police. Court had then fixed February 21, 2018, as the next date for filing the affidavit.
When the matter came up for hearing on November 30, the state government counsel informed the HC that the affidavit has to be filed by the Director General of Police, Haryana. Upset over the unprecedented delay on the part of the DGP, the HC has passed these orders.