HC orders state to grant increment benefits to retired cops

The Aurangabad Bench of Bombay High Court comprising Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Sanjay Deshmukh has ordered the state government to grant increments to 17 police personnel, who retired from their services, one day before the declaration of annual increment by the police administration.

The petitioner Ramesh Eknath Suryawanshi and 16 others (of Jalgaon) through Adv Vishnu Madan Patil have submitted a plea in the High Court. In response to which, the High Court had ordered to serve notices to the chief secretary (Home Department), secretary (General Administration Department), police department's special joint director (Nasik), chief accounts and finance officer (Home Department, Mumbai) and Jalgaon's superintendent of police (SP) and deputy superintendent of police (DySP).

The petitioners brought into the notice of the High Court that they had retired from their police service in Jalgaon on June 30 during 2014 and 2020. Every year, the state government sanctions the annual increment to police personnel on July 1. As they all got retired one day before the date of increment, they deprived of its benefit. This has also affected their pension amount. Hence the petitioners have requested the court to direct the state government to grant them increment benefits under Section 36 of Maharashtra Civil Service Rules.