KATHMANDU, May 1: The Supreme Court (SC) has issued a warning after the government failed to implement its directive to increase the salary of Senior Sub-Inspectors (Senior SIs) in the police force. Despite an ultimatum issued on 8th Baisakh, which gave seven days for the implementation, no action has been taken so far.
The letter from the SC’s decision implementation office, addressed to the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of Finance, also had its deadline expired. However, the process to execute the order has not yet moved forward.
The two SC justices, Til Prasad Shrestha and Saranga Subedi, issued an order on 31 July, 2024, in response to separate writ petitions filed by Senior SIs. The court ordered that their salaries and grades be adjusted upward since their pay was less than that of their junior counterparts.
However, the police are aware of the letter sent by the SC but other ministries are also involved in the process, which is why the implementation has not been completed yet.
SC issues mandamus to increase salary of Senior Sub-Inspectors...
The Senior SIs, including Binay Chand, had filed two separate writs on 1 January 2024, and 27 June 2024, demanding salary adjustments. The SC issued a permanent order and interim injunction in favor of their demands.
These senior officers had raised the issue of being paid less than junior officers, despite their higher rank. They had initiated the case with financial support, with Dr Ganesh Regmi, a former SP of Nepal Police and an advocate, leading the legal team.
The directive issued in connection with the case urged the concerned authorities to implement the order within seven days.
What is the Senior SI issue?
To address the lack of promotion at the lower levels of the police, the Nepal Police amended its regulations and created the positions of Senior Sub-Inspector, head constable and constable.
Two years ago, in 2023, 1,171 Senior Sub-Inspectors were promoted from the lower ranks. However, despite their higher rank, they found that their salaries were lower than those of junior officers. For instance, even after their promotion, some officers saw their pay reduced by 262 rupees.
A Senior SI who had been in grade 8 as a Sub-Inspector (SI) earned a salary of Rs 43,994, but after being promoted to Senior SI, their salary dropped to Rs 43,732.
The salary scale for Senior SIs, implemented from 17 July 2022 starts at Rs 40,998, while an SI earns Rs 34,730. Those who had served for eight years as SIs received a salary of Rs 43,994, which remained the same even after their promotion to Senior SI. However, the new scale for Senior SIs only added two grades, resulting in a lower salary—Rs 43,732.
This discrepancy has led to the dissatisfaction of many Senior SIs, who find themselves in a situation where their higher rank did not correspond to a higher salary.
