The transfer of eight constables at the dog squad to various police stations in Pune was overturned by the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal (MAT). The tribunal quoted instructions from the Ministry of Home Affairs and other departments that a constable with a dog squad, attending to a particular dog should not be transferred.
Eight constables had been with dogs named Lima, Dhruva, Tyson, Rana, two named Eko, and two more named Surya, all aged between three and seven years, since they were puppies.
In September last year, the constables were shifted out of their duties as dog handlers to other police stations, and new constables had been brought in their place to attend to the dogs by orders of the Pune police commissioner. The eight constables then challenged the transfer before the MAT.
The lawyer of the eight constables, Punam Mahajan, argued about directives issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Special Intelligence, to substantiate that dog handlers should not be shifted or transferred to any other place during the operational lifetime of the concerned dog. The constables were shifted out mid-term by the commissioner. Presenting officer A B Kololgi for the state argued that the constables were working as dog handlers for a long time, as against their general tenure of five years. Further, she argued that they were transferred within Pune city itself, causing them no inconvenience or hardship.
The tribunal, composed of judicial member A P Kurhekar, observed that while the constables had been at the same posting for more than five years, “the matter pertained to dog handlers and not police personnel as normally understood.”
The tribunal further said, “In so far as dog handlers are concerned, it being a specialized unit, the transfer of dog handlers are governed by the guidelines issued by the Intelligence Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, as well as Special IG which specifically provides that the tenure of a dog handler should not be changed during the operational lifetime of a dog.” Referring to Maharashtra State Police Dog Squad Manual, the tribunal said, “The idea behind it is to achieve the best performance by continuance with the same dog handler with the concerned dog and to utilize their expertise which a dog handler gets on account of his continuous association and working with the concerned dog."
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