Kerala HC upholds govt order restructuring the police associations

Kochi, Nov 12 (PTI) The Kerala High Court on Thursday upheld the state government's decision to restructure three recognised associations of the police force in Keralam by abolishing one and merging its members in the remaining two, saying that it appears to be an attempt at efficiently grouping together the ranks of officers.

While upholding the government decision of July 27, a bench of justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Preeta A K set aside the September 29 order of a single judge which had quashed it.

The order of the division bench came on the appeals by the Keralam government and two police officers challenging the single judge's decision.

The Keralam government had permitted the formation of three associations in the police force by an order of 1979.

Accordingly, there came into being the Kerala Police Association (KPA) comprising Civil Police Officers and Senior Civil Police Officers. The Kerala Police Officers' Association (KPOA) comprises Grade Assistant Sub Inspectors, Assistant Sub Inspectors, Grade Sub Inspectors, Sub Inspectors and Inspectors of Police. The Kerala Police Senior Officers' Association (KPSOA) comprises Deputy Superintendents of Police and Superintendents of Police (non-IPS).

By the July 27 government order, the associations were restructured by abolishing the KPOA and including Grade Assistant Sub Inspectors, Assistant Sub Inspectors and Grade Sub Inspectors in the Kerala Police Association and Sub Inspectors and Inspectors of Police in the KPSOA.

The bench said that the government restructured the associations to ensure that each of them effectively represents personnel having common service conditions, administrative requirements, promotional avenues, transfer policies and grievance redressal mechanisms, thereby facilitating more effective redressal of their service grievances and welfare concerns.

"The restructuring also seeks to ensure more representative organisational structures for the recognised police associations."

"Before the restructuring exercise, the KPSOA consisted of only 451 members, and consequent to the restructuring and inclusion of officers from the rank of Sub Inspectors upwards, the membership strength of the said association has increased to 3,769 members," the court said.

The court said that it does not find the object of the restructuring exercise to be at variance with the main objects pursued by the association.

"On the contrary, it appears to us to be an attempt by the state government to pursue the objectives of the respective associations more efficiently by grouping ranks of officers who are connected in their service conditions by common features," the bench said.

It, therefore, allowed the appeals and set aside the single judge's decision and also dismissed the petitions that had challenged the July 27 government order.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)