Ad hoc service does not count for seniority unless made under the recruitment rules; regularisation is not retrospective.

Service rendered under an ad hoc or irregular local-candidate arrangement before regularisation under the Special Rules of 1970 could not be counted for cadre seniority. The appointment in 1968 was made under temporary government sanction and was not an appointment in accordance with the governing recruitment rules for Class III posts. Regular service arose only after the Special Rules were framed under Article 309 and the employee was regularised on 26 October 1971. Prior service before that date was not qualifying service for seniority, so seniority had to be reckoned only from the date of regular appointment.

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Issues: Whether service rendered by a local candidate on an ad hoc and irregular basis before regularisation under the Special Rules of 1970 could be counted for seniority in the cadre.

Analysis: The appointment made in 1968 was pursuant to government sanction for temporary local-candidate arrangements and was not an appointment in accordance with the recruitment rules then governing Class III posts. The subsequent appointment and regularisation on 26 October 1971 became possible only after the Special Rules of 1970 were framed under Article 309 of the Constitution of India. Under the scheme of those rules, a person who satisfied the prescribed qualifications and had the requisite local-candidate service could be brought into regular service only from the date of such regularisation or appointment. Service rendered prior to that date was not service under a regular appointment made according to the recruitment rules and therefore could not be treated as qualifying service for seniority.

Conclusion: The earlier ad hoc service could not be counted for seniority, and seniority had to be reckoned only from the date of regular appointment under the Special Rules of 1970.

Ratio Decidendi: Seniority cannot be claimed for service rendered under an ad hoc or stop-gap appointment not made according to the recruitment rules, and regularisation does not retrospectively convert such prior service into seniority-qualifying service.

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