Madras High Court directs government to fill up vacancies in police department

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court today directed the Tamil Nadu government to take steps to fill up the large number of vacancies in the Police department immediately after the elections.

The First Bench Comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M M Sundresh gave the direction on a PIL filed by a Thangavelu, a social worker of Trichy district, seeking a direction to the government to consider his January 12 representation for filling up the vacancies in the Police Department.

"In view of the elections being notified, the respondents cannot take any steps to fill up the alleged 19,157 vacancies in the police department. However, this does not preclude the authorities concerned from taking notice of the fact, so that steps are taken immediately post the elections in view of the large number of vacancies and the representation of the petitioner submitted on January 12 be accordingly dealt with on or before June 15", the court said.

The matter relates to 19000 vacancies in the Police Department which is pending for a long time and separate Special Police Stations for Courts.

The petitioner obtained information through RTI with regard to the vacancy position in the Police Department.

The petitioner further said that the delay in appointing the huge vacancies will affect the administration in Tamil Nadu.