The court affirmed that administrative errors causing employment delays do not negate entitlements to benefits or protections under service rules, supporting equitable treatment under Articles 14 and 16.

ORDER :

1. By way of the instant writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner seeks a direction to treat his date of joining as 22.06.2017, to grant regularization in service with effect from the same date and to revise his first annual grade increment along with fixation of basic pay at Rs. 45,600/- with effect from 01.07.2019 instead of 01.07.2020. The petitioner further seeks all consequential benefits flowing from such revision. The petitioner contends that the delay in joining was occasioned solely due to administrative lapse on the part of the respondents.

2. Briefly stated that facts of the case are that the petitioner applied for recruitment to the post of Lecturer (Hindi) pursuant to an advertisement issued by the Rajasthan Public Service Commission and, upon selection, was appointed on 19.06.2017 and posted to Government Senior Secondary School, Chadvas, District Pali. He duly presented himself for joining on 22.06.2017, but the Principal reported that no sanctioned post of Lecturer (Hindi) existed at the school, resulting in his being refused joining and returned to the disposal of respondent No.1. A fresh posting order dated 02.07.2017 placed him at Government Senior Secondary School, Sojat City, where he assumed charge on 04.07.2017, and his joining was formally intimated on 12.07.2017. His services were later regularized w.e.f. 04.07.2017 by order dated 22.07.2019, and the Principal’s subsequent order dated 23.07.2019 accorded him regular pay scale while fixing his first increment as 01.07.2020. Although appointed along with 2841 candidates under the same order, the petitioner alone suffered postponement of increment due to the respondents’ administrative error in posting him initially where no vacancy existed. Under the Rajasthan Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2017, notified on 30.10.2017, he would have been entitled to his first annual increment on 01.07.2019 had his joining on 22.06.2017 been accepted. He submitted representations on 05.08.2019, 26.08.2019, and 13.09.2019 seeking correction of his joining and increment dates, but no action ensued, compelling him to approach this Court by way of filing the instant Writ Petition.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner contended that the undisputed facts reveal that the petitioner had duly reported for joining on 22.06.2017, yet he was not permitted to assume charge solely because the respondents had erroneously posted him to an institution where no sanctioned vacancy of Lecturer (Hindi) existed. Had the petitioner been allowed to join on 22.06.2017, as he was rightfully entitled to, he would have completed the requisite period of service prior to 01.07.2019 and, in terms of Rule 13 of the Rajasthan Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2017, would have been eligible for grant of the first annual grade increment on 01.07.2019. However, owing exclusively to the administrative lapse of the respondents, a subsequent posting order dated 02.07.2017 was issued, transferring him from Chadvas to Sojat, resulting in his actual joining being deferred to 04.07.2017.

3.1. Counsel further submitted that several candidates similarly situated, who were also issued fresh postings under the order dated 02.07.2017, were permitted to join even in the absence of clear vacancies and were consequently treated as having joined prior to 01.07.2017, thereby securing their annual increment from 01.07.2019. The petitioner alone was denied comparable treatment despite having presented himself for duty in a timely and diligent manner. Thus, the prejudice suffered by the petitioner is solely the consequence of administrative mismanagement, and not of any lapse attributable to him. Had he been permitted to join at Chadvas in