Chandigarh: Punjab and Haryana high court has dismissed a bunch of appeals filed by Haryana govt against a single-bench order that said constables who do not wish to be promoted cannot be compelled to undergo the mandatory ‘Lower School Course’.“Promotion is the sweet will of the employee, but such sweet will has to be exercised before the employee undertakes the promotional course,” a division bench of Justice Harsimran Singh Sethi and Justice Minderjeet Yadav observed in the recent order.“Promotion is a personal choice of an employee in order to rise in their service career. In case an employee does not wish to avail such a gain and chooses to continue in the feeder cadre, the state cannot compel the employee to seek promotion against his or her wishes,” the bench said.The case arose from an Aug 4, 2025, order of the Haryana DGP which named certain constables for the Lower School Course, which is mandatory for promotion to head constable.The constables challenged their inclusion on the list on the ground that the course was only an enabling qualification for seeking promotion and that they could not be compelled to undergo it after giving in writing that they did not wish to seek promotion.On Sept 4, 2025, a single-judge bench directed that govt cannot force any constable to take the course if they are not interested in seeking promotion. Govt challenged the order.Haryana additional advocate general Anu Pal submitted that the selection of constables for admission to the course was governed by Rule 13.7 of Punjab Police Rules as applicable to Haryana. The state argued that maintaining the list was govt’s responsibility and no option had been provided to constables regarding their willingness to undergo the course. The state counsel argued that personnel found suitable for promotion had to undergo the course and could not object to it.Rejecting the state’s argument, the division bench observed that an employee who is ready to bear the consequences of refusing promotion “cannot be made to undergo a promotional course”.It, however, clarified that an employee who has undergone the course at state’s expense cannot subsequently refuse promotion on the ground that promotion was a matter of choice. If anyone does so, govt is free to recover the expenses incurred for his course.The bench also recognised situations in which the state could take action to ensure the department’s functioning. “In case the state wants to run its machinery of maintaining law and order and there are no other employees except those working in the feeder cadre… required action can be taken by the state to even force such employees to work on a higher post so that the smooth functioning of the department is not hindered,” it said.However, where other eligible employees were available, a constable who had refused promotion could not be forced to undergo the course merely because the state had to maintain a list of eligible constables, HC held.
