L.R. Patil vs. Gulbarga University, Gulbarga (2023 INSC 796)
Background
The appellant, an Office Superintendent at Gulbarga University, was selected in 1993 for the post of Assistant Registrar and relieved from his old post under a rule providing that taking up another post with proper permission is not "resignation" from service. His new appointment was later challenged by another employee and eventually quashed by the High Court, so in 2000 the University reinstated him to his former post of Office Superintendent. He then sought seniority and promotion parity with two juniors who had meanwhile been promoted to Assistant Registrar, but the University rejected his claim, and after a favorable Single Judge ruling was reversed by the Division Bench of the Karnataka High Court, he approached the Supreme Court.
Decision Breakdown
The Supreme Court held that under Rule 252(b) of the Karnataka Civil Service Rules, being relieved to take up another post with proper permission cannot be treated as a "resignation" from service, so the appellant never lost his connection to his original post on that basis. Relying on precedents including Ramlal Khurana, Triveni Shankar Saxena, S.N. Tiwari, and Sandhya Tomar, the Court held that a government servant's "lien" (the right to hold a post substantively) on an old post ceases only once he is confirmed or permanently absorbed in the new post, since the appellant remained a mere probationer on the Assistant Registrar post throughout the pending litigation and was never confirmed there, his lien on his original post of Office Superintendent continued unbroken under Rule 20 Note 4 of the KCS Rules. The Court therefore set aside the Division Bench's ruling, restored the Single Judge's order, and directed that the appellant be given seniority, notional consequential promotions, and pensionary benefits at par with his juniors, even though he had already retired without actually serving on the promoted post.
Lesson Learnt
A government employee who moves to a new post with proper permission does not thereby resign from their old post, and retains their "lien" (right to the old post) as long as they are not confirmed or permanently absorbed into the new one: a rule that protects employees whose new appointment later falls through, often due to no fault of their own.