The MAT had directed the state government to give police officer Phatte Singh Patil a deemed date of promotion as he was acquitted in a case pertaining to kidnapping charges in 2002.

The state government filed an appeal in 2003 against the acquittal, which is currently pending in HC. Patil, who was posted in Ahmednagar, was facing the charge in a 1990 incident following which the Ahmednagar sessions court acquitted him in 2002.

Patil had then made a representation to the state government for getting a deemed date of promotion, which was rejected. He then approached the MAT citing other similar instances where officers were promoted.

According to Assistant Government Pleader Nithin Deshpande, state had contended before the tribunal that those instances were a mistake and cannot be relied up on. Deshpande said the tribunal, however, directed the state to give a deemed date to the officer. The tribunal further asked the state government to constitute a committee to review all cases of officers having similar grievance.

The state government moved HC against this order and a division bench of Justice D K Deshmukh and Justice V M Kanade, while admitting the petition accepted Deshpande’s contention that there cannot be “equality in illegality”. Deshpande, after relying on Supreme Court judgments, also submitted that the tribunal’s order for constituting a committee was uncalled for.