Gazette publication governs commencement of Article 309 service rules; promotion made before publication remained valid.

Rules made under Article 309 were treated as subordinate legislation of general application, and such rules became operative only when published or promulgated in the manner prescribed for giving them legal notice. Because the Government Order itself required publication in the Official Gazette, that publication date governed commencement, not the date of the Order. On that basis, the earlier promotion was not invalid merely because it was made before Gazette publication, since the new rules had not yet taken effect.

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Issues: Whether subordinate legislation made under Article 309 of the Constitution of India takes effect from the date of the Government Order or only from the date of publication in the Official Gazette, and whether a promotion made before such publication was valid.

Analysis: The rules made under Article 309 were subordinate legislation of a general character. In the absence of a different statutory prescription, such legislation must be published or promulgated in a manner by which it can be made known to those governed by it. Where the notification itself directs publication in the Gazette, that mode of publication is the operative mode, and the rules become effective only on publication in the Official Gazette. The intervening omission of the earlier selection-rule provision meant that, until publication, the post was governed by the general seniority rule only in the manner applicable under the existing legal position. The promotion in question was made before the publication date of the new rules.

Conclusion: The subordinate rules came into force on publication in the Official Gazette, not on the date of the Government Order, and the promotion made before publication was valid.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition failed because the challenged promotion was upheld on the footing that the governing service rules took effect only upon Gazette publication.

Ratio Decidendi: Subordinate legislation of a general character takes effect only upon publication or promulgation in the mode prescribed, and where the prescribed mode is publication in the Official Gazette, the legislation becomes operative only from that publication date.

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