The main legal principle established is that seniority in civil lists and promotions should be based on the merit positions obtained and the orders of promotion, rather than the regularization of ad hoc service.

B.K. Sharma, J.

1. The present writ petition is concerned with the seniority dispute between the Petitioner and the Respondent No. 4 who are presently serving as Chief Medical Officer under the Respondents.

2. The history of the case leads us to 1975 when the State of Arunachal Pradesh had not attained statehood and was a Union Territory. While the Petitioner was appointed as Junior Medical Officer on ad hoc basis under the then administration of A.P. by Annexure-P1 order dated Nil of May, 1975, the Respondent No. 4 was appointed as such by Annexure-P3 order dated 23.10.75. Both the orders were issued by the Govt. of India in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (Department of Health). Their such appointments were in the basic pay of Rs. 650-1200/-. The terms and conditions of both the appointments were the same. Thus, on the basis of the initial orders of appointment the Petitioner is admittedly senior to the Respondent No. 4. Both the incumbents, i.e. the Petitioner and Respondent No. 4 were regularized in their service pursuant to their selection by the UPSC. Both of them were appointed as Medical Officer in A.P. in the pay scale of Rs. 700-1300/- and the pay of the Petitioner was fixed at Rs. 820/-. By Annexures-P7 and P8 orders dated 13.07.77 and 23.02.78 respectively, the Petitioner and the Respondent No. 4 were stated to be on probation with effect from 30.10.76.

3. A civil list of Medical Officers (Junior Class-I) of the Central Health Service (C.H.S.) as on 01.01.83 was issued in which the Petitioner was included at serial No. 495 and the Respondent No. 4 was included at serial No. 595. It is the case of the Petitioner that such fixation of seniority was on the basis of the merit positions obtained by the Medical Officers in the selection conducted by the UPSC.

4.By Annexure-P11 order dated 09.02.83, the Petitioner and the Respondent No. 3 alongwith some others were promoted/placed in the Senior Class-I Grade in the basic pay scale of Rs. 1100-1600/- and in that order of appointment also the name of the Petitioner appeared at serial No. 227, above the Respondent No. 4 whose name appeared at serial No. 285.

5. On 02.08.90 the Govt. of India in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare circulated a civil list of Senior Medical Officers with the C.H.S. as on 01.04.90 in which the Respondent No. 4 was placed at serial No. 158 as against he Petitioner's position at serial No. 96.

6. From the above, it will be seen that the Petitioner was all along senior to the Respondent No. 4 in the earlier grades. By Annexure-P 13 order dated 01.11.90 issued by the Govt. of India in the Ministry of Family Welfare, the Respondent No. 4 along with some others was promoted as Chief Medical Officer in the pay scale of Rs. 3700-5000/-. The Petitioner was also promoted as Chief Medical Officer of the C.H.S. by Annexure P14 order with effect from 31.12.91. In both the orders of promotion, it was stipulated that seniority of the officers would be regulated on the basis of inter-se-seniority in the Grade of Senior Medical Officer of the C.H.S. It was also provided that the promotions would be effective from the date of assumption of charge of the post of C.M.O.

7. Although the Respondent No. 4 was promoted by order dated 01.11.90 and was posted at the then Bombay, it is on record and rather admitted by the Respondent No. 4 that he did not join the promotional post there. The Petitioner and the Respondent No. 4 joined the promotional post with effect from 01.12.91 as will be evident from Annexure-P15 notification which reads as follows:

(TO BE PUBLISHED IN PART-I SECTION 2 OF THE GAZETTE OF INDIA)

No. A. 110145/92-CHS. II

Government of India

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

New Delhi dated the 29th March, 1993

NOTIFICATION

Consequent on their promotion to the post of Chief Medical Officer of Central Health Service, the following officers relinquished the charge of the post of Senior Medical Officer of the Central Health Service under the Gove