Home Secretary, DG CRPF Will Be Personally Liable For Contempt If Head Constable Recruitment Not Completed Within 8 Months: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has said the Home Secretary and Director General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) will be personally liable for contempt if they fail to complete the recruitment process for the post of Head Constable (Ministerial) within a period of eight weeks.

The court on March 08 had directed the CRPF to act upon a communication issued by the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, regarding the filling-up of vacant posts in the central government ministries or departments, within six weeks.

Observing that no steps have been taken by the CRPF in last four years to fill up the vacancies of Head Constable (Ministerial), a division bench compromising of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani said:

"Accordingly, we hereby direct the respondent Nos.1 and 2 to complete the whole recruitment process within 08 (eight) months from today, failing which the DG, CRPF/respondent No.1 and Home Secretary of respondent No.2 shall be personally liable for contempt of this Court for non-compliance of directions passed by way of this order."

The order was passed on a review petition filed by the CRPF arguing that the 2020 DoPT communication is not applicable to it. A counsel representing the Centre told the court that since the Ministry of Home Affairs is the nodal ministry for all recruitment processes in the CRPF, the same cannot be completed without the MHA approval.

The CRPF in the review petition said the recruitment for filling-up vacancies created during 2018, 2019 and 2020 for the post of Head Constable (Ministerial) is already in process and it will take a minimum of 14 months time to complete the process.

The division bench said it is not in dispute that the posts of Head Constable (Ministertial) are lying vacant for the year 2018, 2019 and 2020 and that thereafter also some vacancies have been created in 2021 and in 2022.

"It is fact that for the last four years, no steps have been taken by respondent No.1 [CRPF] to fill-up the vacancies," said the court.

The bench also recorded in the order that though the counsel representing the Centre has submitted that it will take minimum 14 months to complete the recruitment process and fill-up the said posts, "he failed to disclose at what stage the recruitment process is and the same has also not been mentioned in the present review petition".

The court also noted that some aspirants have already become overage since 2018 and some are about to come in the bracket of overage.

"Thus, this situation cannot be left in the hands of the respondents," it said, while ordering completion of the recruitment process.

The matter had reached court earlier this year when some aspirants filed a petition seeking recruitment on the posts of Head Constable (Ministerial) without any further delay. The aspirants also sought relaxation in the upper age limit "in the peculiar facts and circumstances".

Title: SACHIN & ORS. v. CENTRAL RESERVE POLICE FORCE & ANR

Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Del) 1060

Click Here To Read Order