HARIHARAN Vs. HARSH VARDHAN SINGH RAO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted in Special Leave Petition (C) No.16161 of 2018. Delay in filing Special Leave Petition (C) Diary No.12422 of 2022 is condoned and leave is granted in the said Special Leave Petition as well.

(2.) In Civil Appeal arising out of SLP (C) No.16161 of 2018, the appellants who are original respondents nos.11 to 14 before the High Court of Gujarat, have challenged the judgment and order dtd. 11/5/2018 passed by a Division Bench of the High Court of Gujarat on a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India filed by respondents nos.1 to 18.

(3.) Few factual details will have to be noted. The dispute is a typical dispute between promotees and direct appointees over inter-se-seniority. Here, the dispute is about the posts of Inspectors in the Income Tax Department in the State of Gujarat. On 7/2/1986 and 3/7/1986, Office Memoranda (for short, 'OM') were issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension. Both the OMs record that the principle of rotation of quota will be followed for determining the inter-seseniority of promotees and direct recruits. It is mentioned therein that when direct recruits are not available, the promotees would be bunched together at the bottom of the seniority list below the last position up to which it is possible to determine seniority on the basis of rotation of quota with reference to the actual number of direct recruits who become available. It is provided therein that the unfilled direct recruitment quota vacancies would be carried forward and added to the corresponding direct recruitment vacancies of the next year. It is also provided that these additional direct recruits selected against the carried forward vacancies of the previous year, should be placed en bloc below the last promotee or direct recruit, as the case may be, in the seniority list based on the rotation of quota for that year. Prior to these two OMs, there was an OM dtd. 22/11/1959, which provided for fixing the seniority of direct recruits and promotees based on the rotation of quota.