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IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA
VIVEK SINGH THAKUR, BIPIN CHANDER NEGI
Suresh Kumar – Appellant
Versus
Hon’ble High Court of Himachal Pradesh Shimla through its Registrar General – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
Bipin Chander Negi, J.
The present writ petition has been filed by the petitioner seeking following substantive reliefs:-
i. That the appropriate writ, order or direction may very kindly be issued and the decision (Annexure P10) dated 01.09.2021 may very kindly be quashed and set aside with further direction to respondent No.1 to restore the seniority position of the petitioners as was finalized vide seniority list (Annexure P3) as it stood on 31.07.2017, in the interest of law and justice.
ii. That appropriate writ, order or direction may very kindly be issued directing the respondents to assign the seniority to the petitioners by following the roster strictly in consonance to the decision as reflected in their appointment letters, in the interest of law and justice.
2. Heard counsel for the parties and perused the pleadings.
3. Admittedly the petitioners were appointed as Clerks in the District Judiciary of Himachal Pradesh. Petitioner No.1 joined as a Clerk in the District Judiciary on 26.06.2007. Petitioner No.2 joined as a Clerk in the District Judiciary on 06.09.2004. Petitioner No.3 joined as a Clerk in the District Judiciary on 23.10.2007.
4. As per the Himachal Pradesh
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 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.
Seniority cannot be granted to employees not borne in the cadre; it must reflect the actual date of joining. A fresh seniority list should be prepared following Supreme Court rulings.
Seniority in public service must follow the order of merit per category, prohibiting inter-category comparisons, and claims made after inordinate delay are unsustainable.
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.
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