More than five years after a Single Judge took up the issue of allowing tainted and convicted police officers to continue in service and the non-posting of IPS officers as Senior Superintendents of Police, a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has warned the Centre of coercive steps following its failure to respond. For the purpose, the Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry has set a three-week deadline.“The Union of India has not yet filed its response. Let the same be done within a period of three weeks, failing which coercive steps will be taken against any of the functionaries of the Union of India,” the Bench cautioned.At the outset, the Bench observed that the appeal was filed by the State of Punjab and other appellants to assail the order dated March 15, 2021, passed by the Single Judge. The matter was treated as a suo motu PIL and listed before the Division Bench vide order dated March 20, 2023. The Bench observed that the State of Punjab had filed a status report, but the Centre was yet to respond.The Bench in March 2021 had granted Punjab Additional-Advocate General time to file a status report on why the police administration head should not be an IPS officer. Punjab was also directed to implead the Union of India as a party.The case has its genesis in the order passed by Justice Anupinder Singh Grewal on March 15, 2021. Among other things, Justice Grewal made it clear that police officers charge-sheeted and/or convicted in a criminal case involving moral turpitude would not remain posted on public dealing post. They would not be assigned probe either as investigating officer or in a supervisory capacity and would not be posted in the vigilance bureau till the final decision was taken by a committee. They would also not be posted in the district where their criminal case was being tried.“It is apparent that there is arbitrariness in dealing with officers facing criminal cases… In our system of governance administered by rule of law, the government cannot act like an absolute despot at its whims and fancies by patronizing certain officers while imparting a step-motherly treatment to others. It is, thus, the need of the hour to put in place a proper structure,” Justice Grewal had added.Aggrieved by the order, the State filed the appeal. Its counsel contended matters assigned to a Single Bench as per the roster were to be dealt with by the Bench hearing PILs in case its scope was to be enlarged and converted into a petition in public interest.