Summary
Ex-servicemen appointed to the Punjab Civil Service in 1986 could not claim military-service seniority weightage under repealed 1972 Rules merely because the vacancies arose before the 1982 Rules. The earlier decision preserving the reservation percentage for those vacancies concerned recruitment quota, not seniority. No seniority right had accrued before appointment for the 1982 saving clause to preserve.
Issues
- Whether appointment against pre-1982 vacancies entitled subsequent appointees to military-service seniority weightage under the repealed 1972 Rules.
- Whether the earlier reservation-quota decision or the saving clause preserved that benefit.
Provisions considered
- Rule 4(1), Demobilized Indian Armed Forces Personnel (Reservation of Vacancies in the Punjab Civil Service) (Executive Branch) Rules, 1972The military-service seniority benefit under this repealed provision was unavailable to these subsequent appointees. (¶¶ 9, 15-16, 23)
- Rules 9(3) and 10, Punjab Recruitment of Ex-servicemen Rules, 1982The repeal removed the earlier benefit; the saving clause protected accrued rights but no such seniority right had accrued here. (¶¶ 11-12, 19-21)
Held
- Seniority arises for determination after entry into service. The earlier occurrence of the vacancies did not deem the appellants appointed under the 1972 Rules or carry the repealed seniority benefit into their 1986 appointments. The applicable statutory rules after enforcement of the 1982 Rules governed their seniority. (¶¶ 12, 15-16, 20, 23)
- The final decision in Ishwar Singh preserved the earlier reservation percentage for pre-1982 vacancies. Its holding concerned reservation quota and could not be extended to the distinct question of seniority. (¶¶ 13-16, 20)
- Rule 9(3) did not assist the appellants because no right to military-service seniority weightage had accrued before they entered the civil service. The 1982 Rules did not continue the relevant benefit of Rule 4(1) of the 1972 Rules. (¶¶ 19, 21, 23)
Result
Appeals dismissed. Division Bench judgment denying the claimed military-service seniority benefit upheld.