Gujarat HC orders CRPF to promote HIV-positive officer in ministerial posts

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

The Gujarat high court has ordered the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to promote a woman officer to the Inspector rank, ruling that the force could not stop her promotion to the ministerial post merely on the ground that she was HIV-positive. The Gujarat high court ordered CRPF to promote her as Inspector (Ministerial) with effect from the date her juniors were promoted, and consider her for promotion to the post of Assistant Commandant (Ministerial)
The high court ordered CRPF to promote her as Inspector (Ministerial) with effect from the date her juniors were promoted, and consider her for promotion to the post of Assistant Commandant (Ministerial) by placing her in the gradation list along with her juniors. A special departmental promotion committee should be conducted to consider the petitioner's candidature.
'Upon consideration, if the petitioner is found fit on all other aspects, she shall be given promotion to the post of Assistant Commandant (Ministerial) from the date the junior(s) to her have been promoted against the vacancies of the year 2024-25,' a bench of chief justice Sunita Agarwal and justice Pranav Trivedi said in its verdict on Monday. The detailed judgment was uploaded to the high court's website on Tuesday.
The court ruled that the entire exercise should be completed within two months.
The petitioner, a CRPF officer who was diagnosed HIV-positive in 2013, was denied promotion on multiple occasions despite being medically classified as Shape-I — the highest fitness level — between 2017 and 2022. In 2024, she was temporarily placed in Shape-II for 12 weeks, despite a CD4 count of 562. On that basis, her name was excluded from the list of officers considered for promotion to the post of Assistant Commandant (Ministerial).
'Applying the medical category Shape I as an essential (pre-requisite) condition for promotion of the force personnel in all groups/ranks/cadres in the CPMF and, thus, denying promotion to HIV/AIDS +ve persons who are 'protected persons' within the HIV/AIDS (Prevention & Control) Act' 2017 resulted in arbitrary exercise of powers at the ends of the respondents,' the court said.
The CRPF had tried to argue that medical classification in Shape-I was a mandatory requirement for promotion and cited Standing Orders and Recruitment Rules. It also sought to reason that promotion could not be claimed as a matter of right and that the petitioner's exclusion was based on applicable policy and medical reports. It also claimed that while she had been temporarily upgraded to Shape-I in the past, she did not appear for timely review medical examinations as required, including in 2024, which affected her eligibility.
The officer, on the other hand, said that she had been consistently declared fit for service, with CD4 counts well above the clinical minimum of 200 cells/microlitre, and that she had been arbitrarily downgraded in the medical system without consistency.
She said she was denied promotion despite meeting the eligibility and superior Annual Performance Appraisal Reports. She also argued that applying the same physical medical standards to ministerial staff — who do not serve in combat or field duties — was irrational and discriminatory.
The bench agreed with the petitioner's arguments.
The court ruled that the current rules and standing orders placed an unlawful restriction on DPCs by denying them discretion to assess overall fitness. It stated:
'It seems that HIV/AIDS +ve persons are being treated in the force as the persons suffering from illness of permanent nature and, as such, they are either being declared unfit by DPC even though they are otherwise fit for promotion or not even included in the list placed before the DPC for consideration for promotion on the ground that they do not fall in Shape-I category. This is what has exactly happened with the petitioner herein,' the court observed.