A Division Bench comprising Dr. Justice A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Preeta A.K. set aside the Single Judge's judgment, thereby clearing the way for the government's decision to reorganise three recognised police associations into two.

"We allow the Writ Appeal by setting aside the impugned judgment of the Single Judge," the Court ordered.

The detailed judgment is awaited.

The dispute concerns a government order reorganising the three recognised police associations — the Kerala Police Association (KPA), the Kerala Police Officers' Association (KPOA) and the Kerala Police Senior Officers' Association (KPSOA).

Under the proposed restructuring, the government decided to abolish the KPOA and redistribute its members between the other two associations.

The Kerala Police Association and the Kerala Police Officers' Association had challenged the government order before the High Court, contending that the existing associations were functioning under government-approved bylaws and that their organisational structure could not be altered in disregard of those rules.

The associations argued that the fundamental right to form associations under Article 19(1)(c) of the Constitution also includes the right to continue with a voluntarily chosen membership composition.

The Single Judge had earlier quashed the government order, holding that it was contrary to the approved bylaws governing the associations and was therefore legally invalid.

Aggrieved by the decision, the State preferred appeals before the Division Bench.

In its appeals, the State contended that the Single Judge had failed to consider the special constitutional and statutory framework governing the associational rights of members of the police force.

Relying on Article 33 of the Constitution, the Police Forces (Restriction of Rights) Act, 1966, and the Rules framed under the Act, the State argued that the right of police personnel to form and participate in associations was subject to statutory restrictions applicable to forces responsible for maintaining public order.

Under the revised arrangement, Civil Police Officers, Senior Civil Police Officers, Grade Assistant Sub Inspectors, Assistant Sub Inspectors and Grade Sub Inspectors were to be brought under the Kerala Police Association.

Directly recruited Sub Inspectors and officers in the regular promotional hierarchy, including Inspectors, Deputy Superintendents of Police and Superintendents of Police (Non-IPS), were to be grouped under the Kerala Police Senior Officers' Association.

The State maintained that the restructuring was intended to bring police personnel with broadly similar service conditions, promotional opportunities and welfare concerns under common representative bodies.

The Division Bench has now allowed the appeals.