S N JOSHI Vs. RAILWAY BOARD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner herein was selected to Class-I post after being successful in the competitive examination held by the Union Public ServiceCommission, New Delhi, in the year 1956 and in the interview held in the year 1957. He was appointed by an order dated 14th April, 1958 of the Railway Board and he joined service on 10th May, 1958 at Madras as Signal and Telecommunication Probationer by order dated 14th May, 1958 of the Southern Railway. The seniority of the petitioner and other Class-I Officers similarly selected and appointed, is fixed from the respective dates of their joining service.

(2.) On account of successive Five Year Plans, necessity arose for making appointments of temporary officers in various departments without adopting the usual procedure of recruitment through competitive examination held by the Union Public Service Commission. The and respondent was appointed as a temporary Assistant Signal and Telecommunications Engineer, on 4th July, 1956, and the 3rd respondent on 16th June, 1956. Both the respondents 2 and 3 were absorbed into Glass-I service on 1st March, 1959. It appears that the 2nd respondent appeared for the competitive examination held by the Union Public Service Commission in 1951 but was not successful. The petitioner contends that as he was selected on the basis of merit by the Union Public Service Commission and as he was appointed to Class-I service, his seniority should be fixed with reference to the date of his joining the service i.e., 10th May, 1958 and that he should be treated as senior to the respondents 2 and 3 who were absorbed into Class-I service on 1st March, 1959.

(3.) The petitioner states that in the case of temporary officers it was clearly stated in the relevant orders of appointment that their seniority would count only from the dates of their confirmation when they were absorbed into Class-I services, that from among the temporary employees only a certain number of persons viz., two, would be absorbed at a time into Class-I service, and that too only after the probationers i.e., Class-I Officers in the succeeding competitive examination were appointed into Class-I service thereby making it clear that they would be placed below the probationers selected, in the succeeding competitive examination the date of seniority commencing from the date of confirmation.