Morgan v Commissioner of Police

The matter before the court involved the plaintiffs, Morgan and another individual, who were serving police officers seeking promotion. They brought an action against the Commissioner of Police for declaratory and injunctive relief, arguing that they had been unjustifiably omitted from the promotion list. The plaintiffs contended that the statutory scheme governing the consideration of promotion applications was flawed, as it allowed for final review of decisions regarding ranking on the promotion list only if the applicant was disadvantaged by a failure to comply with procedural requirements at the previous stage of the review process. They sought for the court to consider whether the Commissioner's delegate had an implied or incidental function to assess if the review application disclosed a permissible ground for review.

The legal issues that arose in this case were whether there was an implied or incidental function of the Commissioner's delegate to consider whether the review application disclosed a permissible ground for review, and whether the grant of relief would be futile if the relevant error was established. The court had to determine whether the statutory scheme allowed for an implied or incidental gatekeeping or screening function, and if so, whether the plaintiffs' grounds for review were within the permitted statutory ground.

The court held that there was no implied or incidental gatekeeping or screening function as a matter of construction. The plaintiffs' grounds for review were patently clear and outside the permitted statutory ground. The court found that the grant of relief would be futile, as it was established that the relevant error had occurred. Consequently, the plaintiffs' application for declaratory and injunctive relief was dismissed. The court's decision effectively denied the plaintiffs' request for the Commissioner's delegate to consider their grounds for review, and no further relief was granted.