National

Court: continuous service in cadre determines seniority

New Delhi: Seniority of judicial officers in the subordinate judiciary between direct recruits and promotees should be determined only on the basis of continuous length of service in the cadre, the Supreme Court has held.

Giving this ruling, a Bench consisting of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justices P. Sathasivam and J.M. Panchal said: “It has to be kept in consideration that seniority even by one day may materially affect the future prospects and career of an officer. The person appointed even one day earlier may reach a position which the person [appointed] one day later may not be able to reach due to reasons such as limited number of higher posts or his becoming age barred by the time the next vacancy arises.”

Writing the judgment on a writ petition, filed by B.S. Mathur, relating to the the Delhi Higher Judicial Service (DHJS), Justice Sathasivam pointed out that the only advancement in a higher judicial service was elevation as judge of the High Court.

The Bench said that when appointments “are to be made from two sources, one from the Bar and the other through promotion in judicial service, direct recruits cannot claim seniority from the date of occurrence of vacancy in the direct recruitment quota.

“Therefore, it will not be fair and equitable to give march to a later appointee over a prior appointee of the same year, even if that march is for a few months or a few days.”

The Bench set aside the seniority list of judicial officers in the DHJS prepared by the Delhi High Court.

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