PHC halts rollback of cadet promotions

A two-member bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) has restrained authorities from revoking the promotions of police officers who had advanced in rank as cadets in the Khybe-Pakhtunkhwa police.
The court also sought a detailed response from the concerned departments.
The bench, comprising Justice Naeem Anwar and Justice Farah Jamshed, was hearing a writ petition filed by Amjad Hussain and others through Advocate Syed Asif Ali Shah.
The petitioners argued that they are currently serving at the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and other senior positions in the police force, having received promotions during their training period when they were officially designated as cadets (those candidates who topped their promotion courses).
According to the petitioners, under Standing Order No. 11 of 1987, police officers declared cadets during their course were entitled to faster promotions compared to their peers. These promotions, they asserted, do not fall under the category of "out-of-turn" promotions, which were declared unlawful by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in the context of Sindh and Punjab.
The petitioners further stated that the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government had initially attempted to reverse their promotions by misapplying the Supreme Court's ruling. However, in 2022, the Peshawar High Court had ruled that these promotions were legally protected through proper legislative measures and did not qualify as out-of-turn promotions.
They noted that the Supreme Court had laid out distinct procedures for various categories of promotions and that the current Inspector General of Police had, on May 23, 2025, issued a notification wrongly categorizing their cadet-based promotions as out-of-turn.

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