Key in Your “Football” Story

Recently the Hon: Home Minister of India Sh. P Chidambaram made a statement that Police Officers are treated like football by the administration. For those who have not yet seen the news please check this Business Standard Report.

Now the question is how often you as a police officer have been kicked around in your service? How many times have you been transferred before you could finish your minimum tenure and you felt like you were being kicked around as a football. How often these transfers have resulted in hardships for your family and dear ones? – a new place, a new environ, a new school, new uniforms and books and curriculum, children put in hostels or with relatives, packing and unpacking and loss of favourite things. Each transfer is a punishment for the family even though the service rules say- transfer is no punishment.

Years back, no one used to believe that an IPS could be transferred four times in one month. Well one IPS officer was Joint Director Fire Service, SP in waiting in Police Chief Office, SP Rural Area Agra, SP in waiting again in Police Chief Office and then SP Vigilance Lucknow all in one month in March 1979. When details were given, the comment was that this could happen only in UP. Now the times have changed. Every State has found that transfer is a flourishing industry. The bane of frequent transfers has afflicted Police working since decades. Recommendations of many Police Commissions to give fixed tenure to Police officers have had no effect. The Supreme Court in the Prakash Singh Case decided on 22 September 2006 in Writ Petition No. 310/1996 directed as under:-

Selection and Minimum Tenure of DGP:

(2) The Director General of Police of the State shall be selected by the State Government from amongst the three senior-most officers of the Department who have been empanelled for promotion to that rank by the Union Public Service Commission on the basis of their length of service, very good record and range of experience for heading the police force. And, once he has been selected for the job, he should have a minimum tenure of at least two years irrespective of his date of superannuation. The DGP may, however, be relieved of his responsibilities by the State Government acting in consultation with the State Security Commission consequent upon any action taken against him under the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules or following his conviction in a court of law in a criminal offence or in a case of corruption, or if he is otherwise incapacitated from discharging his duties.

Minimum Tenure of I.G. of Police & other officers:

(3) Police Officers on operational duties in the form1 like the Inspector General of Police in-charge Zone, Deputy Inspector General of Police in-charge Range, Superintendent of Police in-charge district and Station House Officer in-charge of a Police Station shall also have a prescribed minimum tenure of two years unless it is found necessary to remove them prematurely following disciplinary proceedings against them or their conviction in a criminal offence or in a case of corruption or if the incumbent is otherwise incapacitated from discharging his responsibilities. This would be subject to promotion and retirement of the officer.

The aforesaid directions shall be complied with by the Central Government, State Governments or Union Territories, as the case may be, on or before 31st December, 2006 so that the bodies afore-noted became operational on the onset of the new year. The Cabinet Secretary, Government of India and the Chief Secretaries of State Governments/Union Territories are directed to file affidavits of compliance by 3rd January, 2007.

Let us see how far the Supreme Court Directions have been obeyed and what is the normal tenure of a police officer in any post. Police Officers are requested to enter some of their posting details here. You can choose to enter your entire service record or for the period after the Supreme Court directions were issued. You could also choose a five year period in you service when you felt you were being kicked about like a football.

Choose a period in your career and give the instances of atleast five consecutive transfers which took place during that period. Friom the data supplied the programme will calculate the least amount of time an officer has been in a post, the most number of times he has been shunted about and also the longest period he or she has survived in a post. Please make sure that you enter the dates correctly, for brevity sake we are following the YYYY-MM-DD system. Ensure that dates you enter are correct. In case the exact date is not known at this point of time, please assume that 15th of the month was when the transfer was effected.

Come let us find out that Police Officer who will figure in the Hall of Fame as the most kicked about Football or should we call it something else? Add your own Story of having been a foot ball! here. As more and more police officers log their posting details, the Most kicked about foot ball will change its face!!

Keep checking the site to know the current favourite among list of TopCops who were kicked around the most!!!

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