IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Digitally signed by BALAJI B G A O L V A IN JI DRAO WRIT PETITION NO. 6152 OF 2024 GOVINDRAOPANCHAL PANCHAL Date:

2025.11.28 11:13:30 +0530 Deepak Kumar & Ors. .. Petitioners Vs.

Union of India, Through Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue & Ors. .. Respondents ALONG WITH INTERIM APPLICATION NO. 11295 OF 2025 IN WRIT PETITION NO. 6152 OF 2024 INTERIM APPLICATION NO. 11780 OF 2025 IN WRIT PETITION NO. 6152 OF 2024 Dilip Kumar and Ors. .. Applicants-Interveners Pramod Sain and Ors. .. Applicants-Interveners ALONG WITH WRIT PETITION NO. 18613 OF 2024 Principal Commissioner of Customs (General), Mumbai Customs, Zone-1, Mumbai & Ors. .. Petitioners Vs.

Deepak Kumar & Ors. .. Respondents ...

Mr. Anil Singh, Additional Solicitor General i/by Mr. Aniruddha A.

Garge, Advocates for the Petitioners in WP/18613/2024.

Mr. Ramchandra Apte, Senior Advocate, i/by Mr. Sagar Ambedkar, Ms. Jacinta Lobo Kadam, Advocates for Respondent No.1 in WP/6152/2024.

Mr. Ramesh Ramamurthy with Mr. Saikumar Ramamurthy, Ms. Seema Sorte and Mr. Aalim Pinjari, Advocates for the Petitioners in WP/6152/2024 and for the Applicants in IA/11295/2025 &

IA/11780/2025 and for the Respondents in WP/18613/2024.

Mr. Rahul Walia i/by Mr. Puneet Pathak, Advocates for Respondent Nos.5 to 9, 12 & 15 in WP/6152/2024 and WP/18613/2024.

Mr. Vishwajeet V. Mohite, Advocate for Respondent Nos.10, 11, 13 and 14 in WP/6152/2024 and WP/18613/2024.

...

CORAM : SHREE CHANDRASHEKHAR, CJ. &

GAUTAM A. ANKHAD, J.

RESERVED ON: 7^th NOVEMBER 2025.

PRONOUNCED ON: 27th NOVEMBER 2025.

PER, SHREE CHANDRASHEKHAR, CJ.:

In these writ petitions, the order dated 15th March 2024 in Original Application No. 991 of 2022 passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal, Mumbai Bench (in short, Tribunal) has been challenged. In OA No.991 of 2022 filed by Ashwani Kumar Anand and 10 other promotee Inspector (Examiner), co-employees Deepak Kumar, Deepak Keshri, Nitesh Chaudhary and Pasula Sravan who are the direct recruit Inspector (Examiner) were arrayed as the respondent nos.5 to 8. In the said OA, a challenge was laid to the seniority list dated 7^th December 2021 and paragraph no. 7(iii) of the DoPT Office Memorandum (in short, OM) dated 13^th August 2021. The seniority list dated 7^th December 2021 was challenged primarily on the ground that the departmental Authority ignored the decision in “K. Meghachandra Singh”¹ and assigned seniority to the aforementioned four co-employees from a back date. The following reliefs were sought by them : -

“(a) This Hon’ble Tribunal may graciously be pleased to call for the records and proceedings which led to the issuance of impugned Seniority List dated 07.12.2021 i.e. Annx. “A1” and Para 7(iii) of the impugned DOPT Office Memorandum dated 13.8.2021 i.e. Annx. “A2” and after going through its propriety, legality and constitutional validity be pleased to quash and set aside impugned orders i.e. impugned Seniority List dated 07.12.2021 i.e. Annx. “A1” and Para 7(iii) of the impugned DOPT Office Memorandum dated 13.8.2021 i.e. Annx “A2” and accordingly order and direct the Respondents to interspace and rotate the Applicants for the purpose of seniority with the Direct Recruits SSC Batch joined in the Recruitment/Vacancy Year: 2016- 2017 and persons who have joined after 31.3.2017 should be rotated

1. K. Meghachandra Singh and Others v. Ningam Siro and Ors” (2020) 5 SCC 689

and placed only in the vacancy year 2017-2018.

(b) This Hon’ble Tribunal may graciously be pleased to hold and declare that Pra 7(iii) of the DOPT Office Memorandum dated 13.8.2021 are illegal and wrong and accordingly Order and direct the Respondents that as the seniority for the Recruitment Year 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 had not been determined and finalized till 19.11.2019 the same would be governed by the law laid down in the case of K. Meghachandra and Ors vs. Ningam Siroh and Ors. (2020) 5 SCC 689 i.e. dated 19.11.2019 and further declare that no Dir