GEORGE HARRIS Vs. UNION OF INDIA UOI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a petition for review of judgment of a Division Bench comprising Kailasam, Officiating Chief Justice, and me.

(2.) OUR judgment was delivered in a service case. It related to fixation of seniority of a Central Government servant. When we speak of seniority in Government service it is always seniority in a particular grade. Ordinarily speaking, this would depend on two factors : (i) length of service and (ii) continuity of employment. Length of service, generally, must be reckoned with reference to service in the same grade. And, continuity of service excludes any idea of interruption or break in employment. These are the basic requirements relating to fixation of seniority.

(3.) THERE have, however, been refinements of these basic principles, and service regulations have tended to become more and more sophisticated. For instance, the idea of seniority has meaning only with reference to service in the same grade. But there is now a well-recognized refinement to this conception, according to which service in an equivalent grade will also add to length of service. What precisely is an equivalent grade would often be a question, but this is also settled by Government Orders.