The Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal (MAT) on Monday dismissed the application of Mulund senior PI J.J. Jadhav. who had challenged his promotion and a subsequent transfer on the grounds of not having completed three years according to transfer rules. The MAT accepted an argument from the Mumbai police commissionerate which cited two Bombay high court orders that allowed the commissioner to transfer an officer even before the full tenure. Similar applications by two other senior PIs were also rejected.
R.R. Shetty, the counsel appearing for police commissioner Dr Satyapal Singh argued that a transfer before the three-year tenure is allowed if it is within the same commissionerate. This means the transfer would have been illegal had the new posting been elsewhere in the state or outside the jurisdiction of the Mumbai police. Mr Shetty cited two separate 2010 cases namely Ramesh P. Shirsat and Rajendra S. Kalal versus the state of Maharashtra and others to support his claim. The MAT then observed that HC orders are binding upon them and subsequently rejected Mr Jadhav’s application.
“We have been given a 15-day period within which we have to appeal before the HC,” said advocate Makrand Lonkar, the counsel representing Mr Jadhav. Senior PI Jadhav had been promoted to the post of ACP and transferred to the special branch-1 (SB-1) on May 30, which he challenged in the MAT arguing that it violated provisions of the Transfer Act. The MAT then stayed the transfer on June 4.
Interestingly, the situation had led to Mr Jadhav and his replacement senior PI Phulsingh Pawar — earlier posted in SB-1 — engaging in a verbal duel almost everyday as the two staked claim to the same post. Two other senior PIs whose pleas were rejected include Vinod Sawant of Colaba and P. Lonandkar of
Gamdevi.