The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Monday (03.03.2025) dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking the reinstatement of IPS officer Ilma Afroz (IPS:2018:HP) as Superintendent of Police (SP) of Baddi in Solan district.
A division bench of Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Justice Sushil Kukreja rejected the plea filed by agriculturist Sucha Ram from Dholowal village, who claimed that Afroz was pressured into taking leave while serving as Baddi SP and that law and order had deteriorated after her transfer. The court, while dismissing the petition, ruled that it is the government’s prerogative to decide the posting and deployment of officers.
The bench also revoked the stay on Afroz’s transfer, which had been in place since September 9, 2024, when the High Court had directed that she should not be transferred without its permission due to pending investigations in a sexual harassment case in Nalagarh.
Ilma Afroz is currently posted at the State Police Headquarters in Shimla. She was appointed as Baddi SP on January 27, 2024, but went on a 15-day earned leave on November 7, reportedly following differences with Congress MLA from Doon, Ram Kumar Chaudhary. Her leave was later extended, and she returned to duty on December 16, 2024. Meanwhile, the charge of Baddi SP was handed over to HPPS officer Vinod Kumar Dhiman on November 14. MLA Ram Kumar Chaudhary, however, denied any involvement in her leave.
The PIL alleged that law and order in Baddi worsened after Afroz’s transfer and accused the police of colluding with local politicians who operate 43 illegal crusher units near the Punjab-Haryana border in Solan district. It claimed that these “mafias” ignored directives from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the High Court, while the police turned a blind eye.
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