Seniority on absorption must follow recruitment rules and equivalent prior service, not deputation date alone.

Rule 5(2) of the Central Administrative Tribunal (Group B and C Miscellaneous Posts) Recruitment Rules, 1989 governs seniority of employees absorbed from deputation under Rule 5(1), and seniority must be fixed by reference to the dates of regular appointment to the relevant posts. Where officers are absorbed on the same date and that basis does not resolve inter se rank, the proviso preserves seniority by recognising equivalent posts held in the parent department. An official memorandum cannot override the recruitment rules, and past service in an equivalent post remains relevant for seniority on absorption. The employees were therefore entitled to the benefit of service rendered in equivalent parent-department posts.

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Issues: Whether the inter se seniority of employees absorbed under Rule 5(1) of the Central Administrative Tribunal (Group B and C Miscellaneous Posts) Recruitment Rules, 1989 had to be determined by the date of deputation or under Rule 5(2) and its proviso by reference to the dates of regular appointment and the equivalent posts held in the parent department.

Analysis: Rule 5(2) expressly governs seniority of officers absorbed under Rule 5(1) and provides that it shall be determined with reference to the dates of their regular appointment to the relevant posts. Where several officers are absorbed on the same date and seniority cannot be fixed on that basis alone, the proviso applies and preserves the seniority of officers recruited from the same source by taking into account the equivalent post held by them in the parent department. The Official Memorandum relied upon by the respondents could not override the recruitment rules. The interpretation adopted by the Tribunal would create anomalies and conflict with settled principles of service jurisprudence, under which past service in an equivalent post is relevant for seniority on transfer or absorption.

Conclusion: Seniority had to be fixed under Rule 5(2) and its proviso, not by the date of deputation alone, and the employees were entitled to the benefit of service rendered in equivalent posts in their parent departments.

Ratio Decidendi: Where recruitment rules prescribe absorption from deputation and a specific method for seniority, the rules prevail and, for officers absorbed on the same date from the same source, seniority must be determined by regular appointment with the benefit of equivalent prior service in the parent department under the proviso.

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