Retired Danips officers to get financial benefits

In a major relief to about 80 retired Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Police Service (Danips) officers, the Union home ministry has issued a seniority list of these officers to give these officers their due benefits. The family members of 10 officers who died after retirement will also get their financial benefits. A notification issued to this effect by the MHA said that seniority list of 163 officers has been prepared following the directions of the Delhi high court. The notification said: “In compliance of order dated July 28, 2014, the President is pleased to appoint the following entry cadre officers of Danips to the selection grade of the services in the scale of pay of Rs 15,600 –Rs 39,100 with cadre pay of Rs 6,600 with effect from date of their promotions or joining.”

It took 12 long years of legal battle for these retired officers to get justice. One of the promoted Danips officer, Brij Kishore Singh, had challenged the indifferent attitude of the authorities in 2004. He had stated that appointment to that service was through two channels, spelt out in Rule 5 of the Delhi and Andaman and Nicobar Islands Police Service Recruitment Rules, 1971; it was in the ratio of 1: 1 as between promotees and direct recruits, which could, for reasons to be recorded, be varied in the exigencies of public service.

He had challenged the government’s “indifferent attitude” towards Danips officers following which the high court gave a judgment in favour of the officer on July 28, 2014. The government challenged the order in the Supreme Court where it lost the case in September 2015.

A senior police officer said that many officers who had retired 10 to 12 years will get finical benefits.