HYDERABAD: In a relief to the women constable aspirants, a division bench of the High Court has directed the Telangana State Level Police Recruitment Board (TSLPRB) to keep aside 12 posts of women police constables (armed reserve) for the petitioners who challenged the board’s decision to reserve only 10 per cent posts for women in the armed reserve category as against the statutory rules of providing 33 per cent reservations.
The bench comprising Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh and Justice A Abhishek Reddy was passing this order recently in a petition filed by L Krishnaveni and 11 others with a plea to declare the action of the recruitment board in confining women reservation to 10 per cent as illegal. The petitioners said that the decision taken was contrary to the State and subordinate service Rules, 1996.
The petitioners’ counsel contended that the exercise undertaken by the board for normalisation of marks of candidates in physical efficiency test has resulted in severe injustice to women candidates whose marks have been drastically reduced due to the exercise.
On the other hand, the government counsel for home strongly opposed grant of any interim relief in the case saying that the petitioners have failed in selections, hence they have no right to question the Rule.
The bench directed the authorities concerned to file a detailed counter affidavit and posted the matter to November 20 for further hearing.