Ali Mohd. Magrey, J.

1. While hearing the above writ petition at admission stage, the learned Writ Court (one of us, Magrey J.) was confronted with two different views expressed by two (rather three) different Division Benches of this Court on one and the same point concerning the fall out of treatment of the period of unauthorised absence of a Government servant as dies non on his seniority. The following two questions were, accordingly, framed by the learned Writ Court vide its order dated 04.04.2013 and referred for decision by a larger Bench of the Court:

(i) If the provisions of SRO 80 dated 10.12.1978 (should read as 10.12.1972) and SRO 321 dated 07.12.1995 do not make it impermissible to count the period of unauthorized absence, treated as dies non, towards the seniority, whether the act and factum of treating the period of unauthorized absence as dies non by itself would disentitle the absentee/ employee from counting such period towards his seniority;

(ii) Whether the period of unauthorized absence of the petitioner herein with effect from 01.01.1989 to 06.03.1995 could be dealt with and treated under SRO 321 dated 07.12.1995 and/or SRO 514 dated 22.11.1999, both is