Statutory service rules cannot be replaced by executive order; challenge to the validity of recruitment regulations was remitted for reconsideration.

Service conditions of Delhi Development Authority employees were treated as governed by statutory rules and regulations framed under the Delhi Development Act, 1957, and a statutory rule could not be supplemented by an executive order. Because the record did not establish with certainty that the purported recruitment regulations had been validly framed, and the validity challenge had not been properly examined earlier, the appellant was entitled to amend the writ petition to raise that issue. The impugned judgment was set aside and the matter remitted to the High Court for fresh consideration on the validity and applicability of the purported rules.

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Issues: Whether the matter required remand to enable the appellant to challenge the validity and applicability of the purported recruitment rules governing the Delhi Development Authority employees, and whether the earlier regime would continue to apply if those rules were not validly framed.

Analysis: The service conditions of the Authority's employees were held to be governed by statutory rules and regulations framed under the Delhi Development Act, 1957. The material placed before the Court did not establish with certainty that the purported regulations had been validly made in accordance with the statute, and the Court noted that a statutory rule cannot be supplemented by an executive order. As the challenge to the validity of the rules had not been properly examined earlier, the appellant was entitled to seek amendment of the writ petition to raise that issue, and the matter required reconsideration by the High Court.

Conclusion: The impugned judgment was set aside and the matter was remitted to the High Court for fresh consideration, permitting the appellant to question the validity of the purported rules.

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