Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana high court has asked the home secretary of Haryana to clarify if any police authority or state govt can award punishment other than dismissal from service where police officers were awarded a sentence of more than one month by criminal courts.The HC has also directed the state govt to depute a nodal officer, who is conversant with cases relating to the police force, to assist the office of advocate general, Haryana.Justice Jagmohan Bansal passed these orders while hearing a matter in which it was noticed that a former sub-inspector of Haryana Police, who was convicted and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment in a criminal case, was compulsorily retired from service instead of being dismissed from service.During the hearing of the matter, the HC also observed that no nodal officer from the police force was deputed to assist the office of AG, Haryana, which is the root cause of repeated adjournments and delays in the adjudication of cases. Hearing the matter, the court on July 15 directed the home secretary to appear before the court to assist with the matter.In compliance with the order, the state home secretary, Dr Sumita Mishra, appeared via videoconferencing. On being confronted with Rule 16.2 of Punjab Police Rules, 1934 (for short ‘PPR’), as applicable to Haryana, regarding punishment other than dismissal from service to the cops sentenced for more than three years, the home secretary requested more time to respond.On being confronted with the fact that no nodal officer from the police force was deputed to assist the office of AG, Haryana, which is the root cause of repeated adjournments and delays in adjudication, she submitted she would discuss the issue with police authorities. On this, the HC granted time to the home secretary to respond to the queries by Aug 19. “In the meantime, the state of Haryana is directed to consider that a nodal officer, who is well-conversant with cases relating to the police force, is deputed in HC to assist the AG office.“
