The Uttarakhand High Court on Monday disposed of a petition filed by two IPS officers over their deputation orders. The case was heard by a division bench of Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and Justice Subhash Upadhyay. The court did not interfere with the decision of the Ministry of Home Affairs. It asked the officers to approach the Central Administrative Tribunal for relief.
The petition was filed by Neeru Garg and Arun Mohan Joshi. They had challenged their appointment as Deputy Inspector General on central deputation.
During the hearing, the Centre said IPS officers are part of an All India Service. They are posted in states but remain under the control of the Union government. It said the Centre has the power to call them for deputation.
The government also told the court that service matters should be taken to the tribunal, not directly to the High Court.
The officers said they are currently working as Inspector General in Uttarakhand. They argued that posting them as DIG amounts to a lower rank.
As per records, Neeru Garg is a 2005-batch officer and serves as IG Fire Services. She has been posted as DIG in the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. Arun Mohan Joshi is a 2006-batch officer and serves as IG CID. He has been posted as DIG in the Border Security Force.
Both orders were issued on March 5. The Uttarakhand government relieved them on March 6, after which they moved the High Court.
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