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ARUN BHANSALI, YOGENDRA KUMAR PUROHIT
Kharta Ram S/o Shri Durga Ram – Appellant
Versus
State Of Rajasthan – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
ARUN BHANSALI, J.
1. This appeal is directed against the order dated 2/5/2023 passed by the learned Single Judge, whereby, the writ petition filed by the appellant-petitioners has been dismissed.
2. The appellant-petitioners were initially appointed as Patwaris and came to be promoted as Inspector (Land Records) (‘ILR’) vide DPC held on 14/10/2014 against the vacancies of the year 2014-15 by order dated 15/10/2014. The private respondents were also appointed as Patwaris and came to be promoted as ILR pursuant to the Limited Departmental Competitive Examination (‘LDCE’). The dispute pertains to the challenge laid by the appellant-petitioners to the final seniority lists dated 1/11/2019 (Annex.8 to 10), whereby, the respondents No.3 to 8, who have been impleaded in representative capacity, have been indicated as senior to the petitioners.
3. While the petitioners, as noticed hereinbefore, were promoted through DPC by order dated 15/10/2014, the respondents were promoted pursuant to the advertisement for holding competitive examination, which was first published on 17/6/201
The main legal point established in the judgment is the interpretation of seniority rules, the nature of recruitment, and the validity of the seniority list revision under the Land Revenue Act and re....
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.
Service Laws – Seniority List – OMs made it clear that seniority of direct recruits had to be fixed from the date of appointment and not from date of initiation of recruitment process.
Seniority in government service is determined by the date of appointment, not just the year joined in the cadre, protecting prior established seniority rights.
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 public service must be determined by the date of first appointment, not by roster points, as per statutory rules.
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.
Seniority for government employees must be determined from the date of appointment, not the initiation of recruitment, as upheld in relevant Supreme Court decisions.
The court reaffirmed that temporary or ad-hoc promotions do not confer seniority rights, emphasizing strict adherence to statutory rules for public service appointments.
Promotees cannot claim seniority over direct recruits as per established service rules regarding recruitment and seniority determination.
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