Ajit Kumar Panda Vs State of Odisha (Orissa High Court)
Seniority of officer to be reckoned from date of initial appointment and not according to date of confirmation
Orissa High Court held that once an incumbent is appointed to a post according to the rules, his seniority has to be reckoned from the date of the initial appointment and not according to the date of confirmation, unless the rules provide otherwise.
Facts- Vide the present petition, the petitioner challenges the Office Order issued by the Additional Commissioner of CT&GST, CT&GST Territorial Range, Bhubaneswar-opposite party No.3, wherein and whereby the service of the petitioner, joined in service on 08.01.2016 (afternoon) as Junior Assistant (CT & GST), was regularised with effect from 09.01.2022 on satisfactory completion of six years of contractual service in terms of Rule 10 of the Odisha Group-C and Group-D Posts (Contractual Appointment) Rules, 2013. The present writ application has been filed invoking extraordinary jurisdiction under Articles 226 & 227 of the Constitution of India.
Conclusion- Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the case of V. Vincent Velankanni Vrs. Union of India held that it is a well-settled proposition that once an incumbent is appointed to a post according to the rules, his seniority has to be reckoned from the date of the initial appointment and not according to the date of confirmation, unless the rules provide otherwise.
