JUDGMENT
M.L. Singhal, J.
1. Petitioners joined the Haryana Police as Constables. They rose to the rank of Head Constables. They are posted under the Control of respondent No. 3 (Superintendent of Police, District Karnal). They are borne on the strength of the district police. Head Constable’s is a district cadre post. In case, they are transferred from the district to another their seniority is lost in the district from which they are transferred and it is determined according to their placement in the district to which they are transferred. By order, Annexure P1, they were transferred to Haryana Armed Police, Ist Battalion. There is a stipulation in the order, Annexure P1 dated 14.7.2000 that all the petitioners are transferred to HAP with immediate effect and they will relinquish charge forthwith and join by 10 A.M. on 15.7.2000. This order is unjust, arbitrary, illegal, unconstitutional and against the rules governing their service. On these allegations, the petitioner H.C. Bali Ram, H.C. Jagta @ Jagat Singh and H.C. Om Parkash filed Civil Writ Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, whereby they have prayed that writ in the nature of certiorari quashing order Annexure P1 passed by respondent No. 2, Director General of Police, Haryana whereby they have been transferred from District police, Karnal to Haryana Armed Police, Ist Battalion, Ambala be issued. It is stated that their seniority as Head Constables is at the district level of District Karnal as the post of Head Constables is a district cadre post. In case, they are transferred, they will lose their seniority in the district from which they are transferred and their seniority will be redetermined at the place where they are transferred. As per Punjab Police Rules 1934, as applicable to Haryana a Constable before he qualifies/passes the required test and placed in the Select List as provided in Chapter XIII, Rule 13.4, 13.8 etc. i.e. List B, C, D, E of the Punjab Police Rules, 1934 as applicable to Haryana can only be transferred to any Batallion of the Haryana Armed Police because promotional avenues in the district police and HAP are entirely different. Therefore, a Head Constable posted in District Police cannot be transferred to any Battalion of the HAP under any rule. the service conditions of the ranks/cadres in the District Police and the reserve police i.e. HAP is entirely different. The scope of promotions in HAP are far less as compared to such scope in the District Police. In this case, petitioners grievance is that they could not be transferred to Haryana Armed Police.
2. Respondents contested this writ petition. It was urged that the transfer and posting in Police Department are governed by Section 22 of the Police Act and Rules 1.5, 14.5 and 14.47 of the PPR 1934 and every police officer shall be liable to serve at any place, whether within or outside the State of Haryana and in any organisation under the Central Government on being ordered so to do by the appointing authority. Every police officer is empowered under Section 3 of Police Act, 1888 (Central Act, 3 of 1888) when necessary to exercise the powers, functions and privileges of a police officer in any part of India. In the exercise of such function a police officer is deemed to be a member of the police Force of the State or Union of India in which he is at the time. Moreover, all enrolled police officers are under Section 22 of the Police Act liable for service in any part of the general police district. The Director General of Police, Haryana is fully competent to transfer a police personnel within the State within the ambit of the requisite rules. Transfer of a Government employee on administrative grounds is exclusively within the domain of the government and is not enforceable in a Court of Law. Transfer is an incident of service. Petitioners were transferred by Director General of Police, Haryana as there was allegation of corruption against them made by one Balkar Singh on 14.7.2000. If any police personnel is transferred from one district to another district, he would not lose his seniority. On the contrary, his seniority is maintained according to the date of the entry in various promotion lists A, B, C, D, E, and F as provided in Rule 13.1(3) of PPR, 1934. The seniority of the petitioners would be protected even after their transfer to other districts as per the provisions contained in Rule 13.1 (3) of PPR 1934. Petitioners were relieved on 14.7.2000 by Superintendent of Police, Karnal in obedience to order Annexure P1.
3. In CWP No. 2326 of 1996 (Ashok Kumar and Ors. v. State of Haryana and Anr., Hon’ble Division Bench of this Court held that the transfer of members of the Haryana Police force belonging to the District Police cadre to the Haryana Armed Police which has been treated as a separate cadre w.e.f. 1.1.94 is not justified as a person cannot be transferred outside the cadre without his consent. Chapter 1.1 of PPR 1934, defines the categories of the police as per Section 3 of the Police Act 1861 as under:-
1.1 Constitution:- For the purposes of Section 3 of the Police Act (V of 1861) the Punjab is divided into General Police Districts, namely:-
(a) the provincial Police District,
(b) the Railway Police District,
4. Similarly, Rules 1.5, 14.15 and 14.17 of the PPR applied to only the above categories of the police Personnel categorised in Chapter 1.1 of PPR. Therefore, these provisions are not applicable to the cadres Strength of Haryana Armed Police, which is entirely a distinct establishment governed by separate Rules other than the provisions of PPR-1934. Haryana Armed Police and District Police are two separate cadres upto the rank of Sub Inspector and transfer of personnel from open cadre to another is not permissible under the Rules/Policy.
5. In our opinion, the petitioners could not be transferred from District Police to Haryana Armed Police as the Haryana Armed Police and the District Police are two separate cadres upto the rank of Sub Inspector and transfer of personnel from open cadre to another is not permissible under the Rules/Policy.
6. Hon’ble the Supreme Court has observed on an application for interim relief moved by the State of Haryana in special leave to appeal Civil No. 6001 of 2001 that the State of Haryana can transfer the respondent who was Sub Inspector from one district to another without changing the cadre.
7. For the reasons given above, we are of the opinion that the petitioners could not be transferred from District Police to Haryana Armed Police because the Haryana Armed Police and the District Police are two separate cadres upto the rank of Sub Inspector and transfer of personnel below the rank of Sub Inspector from one cadre to another is not permissible under Rule/policy.
8. Writ petition is accordingly allowed. Order, Annexure P1 is, quashed whereby the petitioners had been transferred from District Police to Haryana Armed Police, Ist Battalion, Ambala City.