IMPORTANT POINT
Union of India and Railway Administration advised to take steps to see that necessary and needed assistance should forthcome to the Court for proper adjudication of disputes.

Headnote:Service Law-Railways-Railway Establishment (Vol. I-Revised Ed. 1989)- Para 302- Railway Administration restructured ministerial cadres, determined their gradewise percentage of posts and made distribution-Cadre of Senior Clerks (Grade 1 Clerks)-Appellants are graduates appointed as Lower Division Clerks-Grade II on different dates-Inter-seseniority-Determin ation of-Claim of party by ad hoc appointees de hors rules-They can get seniority not from date of their initial appointment but from date on which they were actually selected in accordance with rules-They would be Junior to in service as well as direct recruit Candidates.
       Held : [1] Vacancies in the posts of Senior Clerks existing prior to October 1, 1980 were 40%. Of them 20% were reserved for direct recruits by competitive examination through the recruitment agency, viz., Railway Service Commission and 80% for promotees.
       [2] Vacancies in the posts of Senior Clerks arising on and from October 1, 1980 were 57.5%. Of them 20% would go to direct recruits and 80% to promotees.
       [3] Among the in-service graduates out of 80%, 13.1/3% posts are reserved for graduate Clerks [Grade II]. They were eligible for competition as open candidates subject to relaxation of ago qualification. The unfilled posts will be thrown open to open market candidates.
       [41The balance vacancies would be available to in-service non-graduate candidates. Senior-cum-suitability was the basis on which they were entitled to be considered for promotion.
       [5] For the vacancies which had arisen after October 2, 1980, 13.1/3% and 10% were reserved for graduate Clerks, [Grade II] subject to their availability. They would be recruited on the principle of seniority-cum- suitability. If no suitable in-service candidate is available the balance vacancies will be filled up along with 10% vacancies by candidates from open market. 80% vacancies will be available to non-graduates, senority-cum-suit ability being the principle for promotion of non-graduate Clerks, [Grade II] also.
       [61 As one time measure, recruitment through Railway Service Commission was dispensed with and limited recruitment by departmental competitive examination would be conducted for selection of the graduate Grade II Clerks.
       (7] All in-service graduate Clerks, [Grade 11] appointed to Grade 1 scale would get only proforma promotion as Grade I Clerks; from October 1,1980 without any monetary benefits except for the purposes of pension. They are entitled to emoluments with effect from the date they actually took over the charge. It would be available for computation of pensionery benefits. The inter se seniority would be as per para 302 i.e., the date of seniority in the grade is the date of appointment to a post in that grade. The grant of higher pay, as a rule, does not confer seniority above the existing incumbents regularly appointed to the post. Among direct recruits and promotees, the date of joining. The working post is the date for the direct recruits and date of. regular promotion, .after completion of the process to order promotion, is the date for the promotees. Inter se seniority is alternative, i.e., promotee first and direct recruit would be below him and the same would continue in the order of merit in the respective lists and the roster maintained by the Railway Administration. In other words promotee would be senior to direct recruits.
       It is seen that such of the graduate Clerks though appointed as Grade 11 Clerks after October 1, 1980 by process of selection through open competitive examination or limited recruitment by departmental examination were upgraded under the aforesaid rules, they would not get the promotion with effect from the proforma date of October 1, 1980 but only from the date of their actual appointment as Grade II Clerks, notionally as Grade I Clerks since their appointments are after October 1, 1980. The inter se seniority of the 20% direct recruits on the one hand and limited recruitment graduate Grade 11 Clerks and promotees on the other, shall be determined in accordance with para 302 of the Railway Establishment [Volume I] in the manner indicated above. (Para 8)

JUDGMENT

K. Ramaswamy. J.-Leave granted.

2. These appeals by special leave filed by some of the employees and by the Union of India, arise from the orders of Calcutta, Allahabad, New Delhi and Lucknow Benches of the Central Administrative Tribunal. The facts in the main appeal filed by Mrs. Anuradha Mukherjee, are sufficient for disposal of the controversy raised in all these appeals.

3. The appellants are graduates appointed as Lower Division Clerks- Grade II on different dates between 1968 to 1982. The Railway Administration restructured the ministerial cadres in the Railways; determined their gradewise percentage of the posts and made distribution. We are concerned in these cases with Clerks (Grade I) in the pay scale of Rs. 3.30-560/-. 40% of the vacancies existing prior to October 1, 1980 in the Clerks category were earmarked for Clerks (Grade I) by Railway Board s letter dated June 1,1979. Subsequently it was revised by Board s letter dated November 10, 1981 to 57.5%.

4. Under the Board s letter dated November 10, 1980 to bring about qualitative improvement in the functioning of the restructured cadres in the Personnel Department, it was decided to fill up 20% of those total posts of Senior Clerks [Grade I] by direct recruitment through the Railway Service Commission. Out of balance 80% of the inservice graduates, 13-1/3% posts were made available to the in-service graduate Grade II Clerks to compete for those vacancies in their quota. Existing graduate employees in the Personnel Department, subsequently extended to Accounts Department and other Departments, were also permitted to compete for direct recruitment quota and age qualification was relaxed. It was decided that Seniority of directly recruited Senior Clerks vis-a-vis those promoted to the Grade would be determined with reference to the date of entry into the Grade.

By letter dated June 18, 1981, the Board had decided to fill up 13.1/3% of the posts of Senior Clerks from in-service graduate Clerks [Grade H] by competitive examination to be held by the Railway Service Commission. In the event of" their non-availability it was decided to fill up the residue vacancies by direct recruitment along with 20% direct recruitment quota from open market. The orders issued thereunder were made effective from October 1, 1980 but no arrears are payable on the account. The pay of the employees so appointed was decided to be fixed proforma from October 1, 1980 but the actual payment of emoluments as Senior Clerks was allowed from the date of their actually taking over the charge in that post. It was further decided that 40% vacancies in the said posts existing as on Septenber 30, 1980 would be filled up in accordance with the orders in force prior to the issue of letter dated June 18, 1981. Those orders were made applicable to the non-Accounts Department as well as Personnel Department and this ratio of 20 and 13.1/3 per cent between direct recruitment and promotion of in-service graduate candidates was made applicable to all in-service graduate Clerks, [Grade ll].

Letter dated January 20, 1981 clarified in para 2(ii) that 10% of the vacancies of Senior Clerks existing as on October 1,1980 as per Board s letter of November 10, 1980 were to be filled up by promotion from amongst the existing Clerks [Grade II] of the Personnel Department on seniority-cum-suitability basis. The direction was to obviate the confusion that direct recruitment from open market would always be by merit. The existing Clerks [Grade II] in the, Personnel Department were also made eligible for 20% direct recruitment quota.

In the letter dated July 31. 1981 it was decided in para 2(ii) that 13.1/3% of the vacancies in the posts of Senior Clerks existing as on October 1, 1980 made available by order dated June 18, 1981 were directed to be filled up from amongst the in-service graduate Clerks [Grade I] in the manner indicated in para l(ii) of the letter dated June 18. 1981. In other words, out of 57.5% of the vacan

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1996 Supreme(SC) 546

IMPORTANT POINTUnion of India and Railway Administration advised to take steps to see that necessary and needed assistance should forthcome to the Court for proper adjudication of disputes.

IMPORTANT POINT
Union of India and Railway Administration advised to take steps to see that necessary and needed assistance should forthcome to the Court for proper adjudication of disputes.