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SANDEEP MEHTA, R. MAHADEVAN
V. Vincent Velankanni – Appellant
Versus
Union of India – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
SANDEEP MEHTA, J.
Civil Appeal No. 8617 of 2013
1. The instant appeal by special leave takes exception to the judgment dated 10th October, 2011 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Madras in Writ Petition1 [Writ Petition No. 583 of 2011] whereby the Division Bench of the High Court accepted the writ petition2 [Ibid] preferred by the private respondents herein3 [Respondent Nos. 3, 4 and 5] and reversed the judgment dated 24th December, 2010 passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal, Madras Bench4 [‘CAT’ hereafter] in Original Application5 [Original Application No. 318 of 2009] preferred by the private respondents herein. The CAT had rejected the Original Application6 [Ibid] challenging the proposed action of revision and fixation of their seniority in the Engine Factory, Avadi, Chennai.7 [‘respondent No. 2-Factory’ hereafter]
2. The brief facts in a nutshell, relevant and essential for the disposal of the instant appeal are noted herein-below.
3. The appellant and the private respondents were engaged on semi-skilled posts such as Fitters and Machinists in respondent No. 2-Factory. A common select list of candidates based on merit was issued by the General Manager of
(1) Seniority – Once an incumbent is appointed to a post according to rules, his seniority has to be reckoned from date of initial appointment and not according to date of confirmation, unless rules ....
The court held that settled seniority cannot be disturbed after a long period, emphasizing the principle of res judicata and the limits of administrative power in altering promotion dates.
Seniority in service is a statutory right determined by established merit lists, with waiting list candidates lacking rights to precedence over those appointed from the main list.
The court affirmed that seniority must be determined based on the recruitment year, not appointment date, ensuring fairness against administrative delays.
The entitlement to notional seniority is subject to actual joining dates, irrespective of previous merit, affirming procedural adherence over retrospective adjustments.
Seniority assigned to any employee could not be changed after a lapse of 7 years, though even on merit it was found that seniority of the petitioner therein had correctly been fixed.
Settled seniority cannot be disturbed after a significant delay without timely objections to established seniority listings.
Seniority in public service must follow the order of merit per category, prohibiting inter-category comparisons, and claims made after inordinate delay are unsustainable.
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