LAHORE: A “relief package” is being prepared for hundreds of Punjab police officers who were demoted as a result of a Supreme Court ruling but many would not be able to get their snatched higher positions as the package does not include any element of favouritism.

The removal of the officers, who had got out-of-turn promotions, from their posts and their subsequent reversion has jolted the lower ranks of Punjab police.

They include 20 SPs and above officers including DIG Akhtar Umar Hayat Laleka who was an inspector in traffic police, 65 DSPs and thousands of other junior rank officials.

Sources said on Wednesday that a team of officials including from the home, police and law departments was planning a “relief package” whereby the seniority of the demoted officials would be re-fixed and the chief minister requested to relax rules and regulations so as to promote them without any routine required drill. But this promotion would synchronise with the promotions of their previously superseded batch mates.

Sources said the order to demote the police officials given out-of-turn promotions was given by the Supreme Court in 2013, but this order was not implemented. In 2015, a junior officer who was denied such promotion by the then Gujranwala RPO approached the Supreme Court for relief but in fact reminded it of its earlier order.

As the Punjab government had no chance left but to implement the orders this time, a committee comprising officials of various departments was formed to look into the matter. The committee advised the government to implement the court orders in letter and spirit, but the law department recommended to re-fix seniority of the affected officials as if they were not promoted out of turn.

But this process was lengthy involving among other things the previously bypassed courses or written examinations for the promotion of say, inspectors to the rank of DSP, and age limits. And therefore the home department recommended that everything else should be done only after first demoting the promoted officers to obey the court orders.

“The home department’s decision was based on the legal point as to how to give a legal cover to the actions of a DIG ought to be demoted in the light of the Supreme Court orders but still wearing the rank,’ an official said.

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2016