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Rajni Kant Ojha v. State of Bihar

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 7147 of 2008)Decided 7 Oct 2015
Civil Appeal No. 7147 of 2008
Justice J.S. Khehar · Justice R. Banumathi

Background

Candidates from a common 1982 written test were appointed to Class-III posts in 1983. Some of the respondents had been appointed Assistant Consolidation Officers in the Revenue and Land Reforms Department, and were later declared surplus and temporarily adjusted as Supply Inspectors in the Food, Supply and Commerce Department. The dispute was whether they could claim seniority based on their higher ranking in the original merit list, or only from the date they joined as Supply Inspectors.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court allowed the appeals and set aside the High Court's orders. It held that the merit-based seniority rule (Rule 18 of the 1993 Supply Inspector Rules) applies only to direct recruits to the same cadre in the same department, which the respondents were not. Their adjustment orders expressly said seniority would run from the date of joining the new post. A 1972 government instruction, relied on through Rule 21, did not apply because it covers transfers within the same department. The State was directed to re-determine seniority from the date of joining the Supply Inspector posts.

Lesson Learnt

When a government employee is moved into a different department, the seniority terms stated in the transfer order usually control. A higher merit rank from an earlier common selection does not automatically carry over.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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