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Kochi: A division bench of the high court on Thursday upheld the state govt’s July 27 order restructuring three recognised police associations, setting aside a single bench judgment that had quashed the govt order. The single judge had quashed the order, holding that the associations were not given an opportunity to make representations as required under Rule 8 of the 1966 Rules and that the prescribed procedure for amending the associations’ bye-laws had not been followed. The single bench had also held that the order violated the fundamental right to form associations under Article 19(1)(c) of the Constitution, as the members were not consulted and the associations’ bye-laws were bypassed. The court also held that the restructuring was a policy decision based on administrative considerations, including aligning the associations with the existing service structure following the 2008 grade promotion scheme. The division bench further observed that the restructuring would make the associations more representative, pointing out that the KPSOA’s membership had increased from 451 to 3,769.
Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and A K Preetha were considering appeals by the govt and A P Sugunan and G R Ajith, members of the ad hoc committee constituted by the govt. The govt order had abolished the Kerala Police Officers’ Association (KPOA) and merged its members with the Kerala Police Association (KPA) and the Kerala Police Senior Officers’ Association (KPSOA). It reasoned that membership was automatic and determined by rank rather than individual choice. It also took note of the state govt’s submission that the restructuring would bring police personnel with common service conditions, promotional avenues and administrative interests under a common representative forum, thereby strengthening the effectiveness of the recognised associations. The court observed that the govt’s move was intended to enable the associations to pursue their respective objectives more effectively by grouping together officers with common service conditions.