By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday reserved its verdict on the petition of Zakat Foundation of India (ZFI) challenging the central Government’s decision to select 490 IPS officers through a limited competitive examination (LCE). ZFI had argued that LCE to select IPS from among officers in police forces and army violates the constitutional guarantee of equal opportunity in public employment.
“LCE kills the fundamental right under article 16 that guarantees equality of opportunity in public employment. This is because in the limited eligibility pool the availability of all minorities together is less than four percent while their share in population at national level is nineteen percent,” says Dr Syed Zafar Mahmood, President, Zakat Foundation of India.
The LCE will harm Muslims more as their presence in police and army is negligible. Dr. Zafar Mahmood explains: The statistics of Muslims reflects much worse scenario. Their national presence is 13.4% while their availability in the limited eligibility pool of LCE is less than one percent.
Besides, the LCE shows that the UPA Government is really not interested in implementing its own decision of 4.5% minority sub quota in public services that was announced with fanfare on the eve of the assembly elections for UP and four other states held in Feb-March 2012. Subsequently notification was issued by the central goveernment’s department of personnel & training (DoPT) two days before the election commission’s code of conduct came into force.
“IPS Limited Exam shows UPA Government’s apathy towards implementing 4.5% minority sub quota,” Dr Mahmood says.
The Home Ministry of Central Government decided in 2010 that out of the additional recruitment of IPS officers, 490 officers shall be selected through a Limited Competitive Examination. Only those persons will be able to apply for LCE who have been working for 5 years or more as major or captain in the Defence Forces, Assistant Commandant in Central Police Organizations or Deputy Superintendent of Police in the states.
The LCE advertisement was published in Employment News on 10th March 2012 inviting online applications. ZFI moved the court challenging the LCE.
ZFI challenges LCE
Zakat Foundation of India, a Delhi based charitable registered trust, filed a writ petition against the LCE in Delhi High Court. On the first hearing on 21st March Chief Justice A.K. Sikri and his associate judge Justice Rajiv Sahai ordered the Government of India to produce before the court the relevant record. On 28th March the relevant record was produced before the court and ZFI put its arguments opposing the move of the central government. After hearing the ZFI’s points, the court deferred the verdict to 11th April 2012.
On 11th April also, ZFI counsel Ambar Qamaruddin once again drew the attention of the High Court toward the trampling of basic minority rights under article 16 because of the LCE. He also re-argued that the UPSC’s advice has constitutional significance and deserves to be respected. The strong disagreement against LCE expressed by more than half of the states under the All India Services Act 1951 has vital bearing on the country’s federal edifice. Hence, the LCE needs to be quashed. Instead, the Government should enhance the number of IPS officers selected annually through the CSE from the existing 120 to an appropriate figure, say 190, like it has been done in the case of IAS. After hearing the arguments, the court reserved the judgment.