The controversy surrounding Madhya Pradesh's long-awaited promotion process has intensified, with officers from the Home Department alleging that the Public Service Promotion Rules, 2025 have not been implemented in accordance with the guidelines issued by the General Administration Department (GAD).

After similar objections were raised by officials in the Commercial Tax Department, Home Department officers have now submitted complaints to the department's secretary and senior officials, alleging arbitrary interpretation of the promotion rules and warning that they may move the court if corrective action is not taken.

Officers Allege Rules Were Ignored

The complainants claim that promotions were granted without adhering to the provisions laid down under the Promotion Rules-2025, resulting in thousands of eligible officers and employees from the general category as well as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes being denied promotions.

They have demanded a review of the promotion exercise and implementation of the rules in their original spirit.

Police Department Promotions Under Scrutiny

The police department, where the highest number of promotions has taken place, has emerged as the focal point of the controversy.

According to the state government, nearly 25,000 police personnel have been promoted under the new exercise, a move that Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav has publicly appreciated.

However, officers who were left out have questioned the process, alleging that officials failed to follow the prescribed procedure and have not initiated corrective measures despite being aware of the alleged irregularities.

Selection Year Procedure Allegedly Overlooked

According to the complainants, Clause 6 of the Public Service Promotion Rules, 2025 clearly states that if a Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) meeting for a particular selection year cannot be held on time, the pending selection year's promotion list must be prepared first before considering vacancies of subsequent years.

The officers allege that instead of preparing a separate selection list for the pending 2025 vacancies, departments considered records from later years and issued promotion orders accordingly.

GAD Clarification Cited

The officers have referred to the clarification issued by the General Administration Department after the notification of the Promotion Rules.

According to the GAD's clarification issued on June 30, 2025:

• DPCs held in 2026 were to consider Confidential Reports (CRs) from 2024-25 to 2020-21.

• DPCs conducted in 2025 for vacancies up to December 2026 were to consider CRs from 2023-24 to 2019-20.

• The special DPC for 2025 vacancies, covering posts up to December 2025, was required to assess eligibility based on CRs from 2022-23 to 2018-19.

The complainants allege these directions were ignored in several departments.

Demand for Review, Court Move Likely

Affected officers have demanded that the state government review the entire promotion process and issue revised promotion orders in accordance with the Promotion Rules-2025 and the GAD's guidelines.

They have warned that if the alleged irregularities are not rectified, the matter will be challenged before the courts.

The state government has not yet issued an official response to the latest allegations raised by Home Department officers.