P SHANMUGANATHAN Vs. SECRETARY TO TAMIL NADU GOVERNMENT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS judgment shall dispose of the following writ petitions, as the common question of law and facts are involved. For the sake of brevity, the facts have been taken from W.P.No.11618 of 2009.

(2.) THE prayer made in all these writ petitions is issuance of writ in the nature of certiorari to quash the order passed in Proc. No.P1/58439/2007 dated 04.05.2009 communicating inter-se seniority list of Assistant Commercial Tax officers (hereinafter referred to as A.C.T.Os.) for the year 1968 to 2006.

(3.) THIS Court considered the matter in detail and struck down the provisional seniority list. While assailing the provisional seniority list, this Court also laid down the following guidelines for drawing the seniority list; 1.Each year should be taken as a unit for fixing the inter-se seniority 2.Persons not actually appointed in a year should not be included in that year. 3.The date on which an officer commences probation is the proper criterion for fixing inter-se seniority. 4.If there are vacancies out of the reservation of 40%/33-1/3% of the permanent cadre of ACTOs for direct recruits, any appointment made either by transfer or promotion cannot be utilised to fill up those vacancies. Such appointments being of temporary character, wherever direct recruits are appointed through Public Service Commission, they being holders of permanent posts by direct recruitment, they have a right to be appointed to whatever posts that are taken out of the 40%/33-1/3% posts reserved for direct recruitment.