Court rules on seniority claim for temporary appointments in Public Health Engineering Department Services.

The court dismissed the petitioners' claim for seniority from their initial temporary appointments as Assistant Engineers in the Public Health Engineering Department Services. The court emphasized that the appointments were stop-gap measures pending regular selections by the Public Service Commission, and seniority should be determined from the PSC selection date as per Rule 12(a)(i). Previous rulings on similar disputes upheld this principle, leading to the dismissal of the current petitions seeking seniority from the initial appointment.

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Issues involved: Determination of seniority of direct recruits in Public Health Engineering Department Services (Class-II) based on their initial appointments and subsequent regularizations.

Summary:
1. The petitioners, direct recruits appointed as temporary Assistant Engineers, contended for seniority from their initial appointment in 1972, arguing it was as per rules then. However, the appointments were temporary pending regular selection by the Public Service Commission (PSC) as per Rule 7 of Madhya Pradesh Civil Services Rules, 1961. The appointments were deemed stop-gap emergency arrangements until regular selections were made by the PSC. The argument that the posts were beyond PSC's consultative jurisdiction was refuted, emphasizing the obligation to consult for permanent posts. The contention that general Rules of 1981 applied for seniority was dismissed, citing Rule 12(a)(i) prioritizing seniority from PSC selection date. Precedents highlighted that irregular initial appointments do not grant seniority benefits.

2. Previous similar disputes on seniority raised by direct recruits were addressed by the High Court and upheld, with subsequent dismissal of their appeal by the Supreme Court. Therefore, the current petitions seeking seniority from initial appointment were dismissed based on established principles and past rulings.

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