Temporary service cannot outrank regular recruitment in seniority disputes under service rules

Temporary appointees appointed under Rule 10(a)(i)(l) of the Andhra Pradesh State and Subordinate Service Rules could not claim seniority over Public Service Commission-selected direct recruits because their appointments were emergency appointments made outside the recruitment rules. Seniority had to be reckoned from appointment made in accordance with the rules, and temporary or ad hoc service rendered dehors the rules could not be counted to outrank regularly selected candidates. Regularisation under Rule 23(a) did not confer an earlier seniority date, and the direction placing the temporary appointees below the 1981 PSC batch correctly applied the service rules without offending Articles 14 and 16.

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Issues: Whether temporary appointees appointed under Rule 10(a)(i)(l) of the Andhra Pradesh State and Subordinate Service Rules could claim seniority over direct recruits selected by the Public Service Commission, and whether their regularisation entitled them to count earlier temporary service for seniority.

Analysis: The governing service rules required appointment to the post only by direct recruitment or transfer from the prescribed feeder service, and direct recruits selected by the Public Service Commission became members of the service from the date they started discharging duties in the cadre post. By contrast, temporary appointees under Rule 10(a)(i)(l) were emergency appointees made otherwise than in accordance with the recruitment rules, were not probationers by reason only of such appointment, and could be regularised only in the manner permitted by Rule 23(a). Seniority under Rule 33(a) had to be determined from appointment in accordance with the rules, and temporary or ad hoc service rendered dehors the rules could not be counted to gain seniority over regularly selected candidates. The Court also held that the regularisation order and the governmental direction placing the temporary appointees below the 1981 PSC batch reflected the correct application of the rules and did not offend Articles 14 and 16.

Conclusion: The temporary appointees were not entitled to seniority over the PSC-selected direct recruits, and their earlier temporary service could not be counted to rank them above the regular recruits.

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