The Calcutta High Court today stayed a Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) order that had set aside the promotion of five IPS officers to the post of DGPs in West Bengal, including the chief of the state police.
Taking up an appeal by the West Bengal government against the CAT order, a division bench comprising Justice Asim Kumar Banerjee and Justice Arijit Banerjee granted injunction on the order till further orders.
The bench directed that the matter would be taken up for hearing tomorrow.
The state government, moving the appeal, prayed for a stay on the CAT order on the ground that the state was without a DGP at present and this might lead to complications in maintenance of law and order.
The Tribunal, acting on a petition by IPS officer Nazrul Islam challenging not being granted promotion to the post of DGP, had set aside the appointments on February three.
The five officers were West Bengal DGP G M P Reddy, Ravinderjit Singh Nalwa (DGP Homeguard), Vijay Kumar (DGP Enforcement), Anil Kumar (DGP Armed Police) and Raj Kanojia (DGP Coastal Security).
The Tribunal had directed the state government to set up a fresh selection committee and consider all those eligible as on December five, 2012, afresh.
This would include Nazrul Islam, who is at present in the rank of ADG, Samanta said.
Nazrul Islam, who was sidelined by the then Left Front government in West Bengal, had been taken to the Railways by Mamata Banerjee when she was the Railway Minister.
He was brought back to the state after Banerjee took over as the chief minister.
The IPS officer reportedly fell apart with the present government and is at present posted as ADG, Provisioning.
He moved the CAT after he was allegedly not considered for promotion.
