Furore over out-of-turn promotion to cops

NEW DELHI: A decision of the Cabinet Committee on Appointments to grant the rank of special secretary to all IPS officers of the 1975 batch who were recently promoted as director-generals has created a stir with a section of officialdom seeing it as an extraordinary and unnecessary measure.

The story apparently begins with the out-of-turn rank being given to three officers who had the "right" connections. One of these senior cops was related to a governor who commands some attention with the Congress-led government at the Centre. These officers were worried that they would be retiring without the benefits of senior rank.

When the government took the rather unusual measure of upping the ranks of just these three officers, it perhaps did not anticipate the protests that would follow. While the cops in question could be said to have pulled strings, their batchmates were not ordinary folks and took umbrage to the exception that had been made.

Sensing that the goodies would have to be spread out more evenly, the ACC then granted the benefits to all officers of that batch. But this created another anomalous situation. Suddenly, by virtue of their special rank, these officers became "senior" to those who were higher up the pecking order in their respective organisations. The heartburn is not serious, but some of these officers have about two years to go for retirement.

The fallout of the ACC's decision is being felt in several central organisations including police and security outfits. What seems to have happened is that in every organisation as well as some state police forces, one or two officers have become the odd men out due to the ACC decision. What is causing some annoyance is that while the committee moved quickly on these promotions, it does not show similar alacrity otherwise.

But with the ACC being headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and including home minister P Chidambaram and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, no one is asking too many questions.