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1993 (3) TMI 353

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..... appointed as an Inspector of Excise (Junior) on January 17, 1968 vide O.M. No. ADM EST 1 1312/67 dated 11.1.1968 along with 37 other persons. It has been indicated in the said letter of appointment that the candidates sponsored by different employment exchanges to the State were appointed as Excise Inspector and posted to the places noted against each of them subject to the conditions noted in the said letter of appointment. It was specifically stated in the said appointment letter that the appointment were made on purely temporary basis and the services were liable to be terminated at any time without notice. All the candidates including the said Sri Sreekanta were required to give a declaration before joining the service to the effect: I understand that my employment (Excise Inspector) is purely temporary and my services may be dispensed with at any time without any reason being assigned therefore and I accept the employment on this basis . The services of the said Respondent Sri Sreekanta and similarly appointed other persons were regularised vide Order No. ADM EST 1 215/21-72 dated October 26, 1971 under the Mysore State Civil Services (Direct Recruitment to class III posts) .....

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..... ointing local candidates who were not disqualified for appointment under the Karnataka State Civil Services (General Recruitment) Rules 1957 on the date of their appointment as Local Candidates and who possess the qualifications specified in Sub Rule (2). Sub Rule (2) is to the following effect:- (2) For purposes of sub rule (1) the candidate must be person, (i) who on the date of his appointment to the Class III posts referred to in item (ii), (a) was within the age limit prescribed for recruitment to such post by the rules of recruitment applicable to such post s, and where no such rules have been made by I he Karnataka State Civil Services (General Recruitment) Rules, 1957; (b) possessed the minimum academic qualification prescribed by the special rules of recruitment applicable for recruitment to such posts; and (ii) who is or had been appointed on or after the 1st January, 1965 as a local candidate to a Class III post and has or had put in a continuous service of not less than one year at any time prior to 1st October, 1970. Rule 4 of the said Rules dealing such manner of recruitment provides that in every department appointment to vacancies categories of Cl .....

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..... s claim of seniority by quashing the seniority list and directing the respondent to prepare the seniority list afresh after taking into consideration the claim of the writ petitioner in the said earlier writ petition, the concerned authorities were not entitled to count the seniority of writ petitioner again on the basis of appointment on 26.10.1971. The learned Single Bench by the judgment dated August 7, 1986 dismissed the writ petition by holding inter alia that the writ petitioner did not produce the relevant orders namely the order of appointment made on 17.1.1968 nor the order regularising his service on 26.10.1971 and the writ petitioner having been appointed as a local candidate on 17.1.1968, as per Rule 1A of Karnataka Government Servants (Seniority) Rules 1957, the said seniority rules were not applicable to a local candidate so long he continued as local candidate. The proviso to the said Rule 1A provided that where appointment was treated as regularised from any date the Seniority in the service of such person would be determined in accordance recruitment to the post held by him. Hence the seniority of. the, writ petitioner was to be counted from 26.10.1971 and hot othe .....

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..... gular procedure for direct recruitment to the Class III Posts. He has drawn our attention to the Government decision being Order No.HD 154 EDC 67 dated August 31, 1967 by which Government sanctioned 57 posts of Excise Inspectors (Junior) on consideration of the proposals made by the Excise Commissioner. It was specifically mentioned in the said Order: in the meanwhile, as the posts are to be filled up forthwith, the Excise Commissioner is requested to take action to make in-charge arrangements as far as possible and to fill up the released and other vacancies by local candidates through Employment Exchange and at the same time, to take action to fill up the posts through the Public Commission for replacing the local candidates. (emphasis supplied) In the appointment letter by which the said Writ Petitioner/respondent and 37 other persons were appointed on January 11, 1968, the aforesaid Government Order No. HD EDC 67 dated August 31, 1967 was mentioned. Mr. Narasimha Moorthy has submitted that as for the respondent, Sri V. Sreekanta, the letter of appointment read with the sanction of the Government as contained in G.O. No. HD 154 EDC 67 dated August 31, 1967, clearly .....

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..... taka had challenged the seniority list published by the Administration on the ground that his seniority should have been reckoned from the date of initial appointment in 1968 and not from the subsequent regularisation of appointment on October 26, 1971, the Karnataka High Court did not made any such finding in favour of the said respondent but only directed the authorities to publish the seniority list after considering the said claim of the respondent. Since such claim could not be entertained as legal and valid, such claim was not accepted by the administration and the seniority list was published afresh by counting the service of the respondent and similarly circumstanced employees from the date of their subsequent employment in accordance with the rules of recruitment. Mr. Narasimha Moorthy has submitted that the Karnataka Government Servants (Seniority) Rules, 1957 do not support the contention of the respondents. He has submitted that Rule I-A of the said seniority rules provides that the said Rules would not be applicable to the local, candidates who may be serving in any cadre. Proviso to the said Rule 1-A indicates that where the local candidate s appointment is treated as .....

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..... of the learned Single Bench, Mr. Narasimha Moorthy has submitted that unfortunately the Division Bench has not referred to the real question involved in the matter and without considering the reasonings indicated in the decision of the learned Single Judge and also the correct legal position as laid down by this Court has come to the conclusion that irrespective of the fact that the respondent was a local candidate, his seniority should be fixed from the date of his initial appointment. and not from the date of regularisation. Mr. Narasimha Moorthy has submitted that such view is contrary to the Service rules and also contrary to the decisions of this Court referred to hereinbefore. He. has therefore, submitted that the decision of the Division Bench of the Karnataka High Court should be set aside and the Writ Petition of the respondent should be dismissed. V. Sreekanta, has submitted that the decisions of this Court as referred to hereinbefore are not applicable to the facts and circumstance-, of the, case. In all the said decisions, it has been held that in the case of ad hoc appointment, seniority should not be counted for the period of such ad hoc appointment. He has submitt .....

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..... by the Government, in our view, clearly demonstrates that such appointment of the said respondent and other employees in 1968 was ad hoc appointment given to local candidates being sponsored by the local Employment Exchange. It was only on October 26, 1971, the said respondent became eligible to be recruited in the said Class III post, and such appointment/or regularisation of his ad hoc appointment was made possible because of the framing of the said special rules of recruitment in 1970. In our view. Mr. Narasimha Moorthy is justified in his submission that the respondent was not entitled to claim seniority from the date of his initial appointment on ad hoc basis but he was only entitled to claim seniority from the date of his subsequent appointment or regularisation under the said special rules of recruitment in 1970. It appears to us that under Rule 3 of the said special rules of recruitment of 1970, the respondent, having possessed the minimum qualifications prescribed by the said special rules of recruitment for recruitment to Class III Posts and the said respondent having been appointed on or after January 1, 1965 as a local candidate to a Class III post and having put in a c .....

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