KARAM PAL & ORS. ETC. versus UNION OF LNDIA & ORS.

Citation: [1985] 3 S.C.R. 271 · Decided: 12-03-1985 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: P.N. BHAGWATI · Disposal: Dismissed

Cited by 1 judgment(s) · cites 3 · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

• 
• 
~71 
A 
KARAM PAL & ORS. ETC. 
B 
v • 
UNION OF lNDIA & ORS. 
March 12, 1985 
c 
{P.N. BHAGWATi, AMARENDRA NATH SEN & RAN~ANAnl MISRA JJ.] 
IAbour and Services : 
Central Secretariat Service Rules, 1962, Rules 13, 18 and Regitlatioii 3 
r: ·D 
of Fourth Schedule-Seniority and Promotion of direct recruits and pro~tees 
. ;__Quota and rota ru/e,,-Whether select list can be challenged In the absence 
of c~al/enge to the Rules and Regulations.· 
' 
The peti~ioners 1 Assistants ar~ coVer~d by the Central secfetariat Service 
Rules, 1962 (Rules, for short). They challenged under Art. 32 the correctness 
of the Select List for the grade of Sectioll Officers for the years 1978, 1979 and -
_ 1980 and the common seniority list dated April 26, 1979 as a1so the provisional 
supplementary list of Assistants on the . ground : (i) that the quota rule bad 
broken down as direct recruitment b.id not been made in many years and·' on 
account of such failun; fixation of seniority with reference to the rotational 
method ·was not available to be followed ; and (ii) that Select List as contemp~ 
lated by the Rules hid not been framed for quite a long period and in the 
absence of such a select list framed in time, select lists of 1978, 1979 and 1980 
prepared without following· the criterion of length of serVice- pf·officers in the 
grade of Assistants was not only unfair and arbitrary worked out prejudicially 
to-the petitioners. 
The petitioners ·prayed that the select list and seniority 
list be republished On the basis of(length ~ontinuous service in the grade of 
Assistants and promotion to the grade of Section Officers be granted from the 
dates when Assistants junior to them were promoted as Section Officers. 
On 
the other hand, Respondent No. 1-Union of India argued that there had been·· 
regular direct recruitm€:Dt into the Service in all years except only two, -viz., 
1966 and 1970. Thus, the quoia rule has, therefore, really not broken down 
as pleaded by the petitioners and the Rules, having contemplated a scheme of 
direct recruitment and promotion, qt.iota and rota have to work · together· and 
4 
since the manner of fixation of seniority is covered by statutory rules, the 
petitioners are, ·not entitled to claim determin:ltion of seniority on the basis of 
length of service. 
'· 
:E 
F 
-,G 
:H 
it9SSl 3 s.c.lt. 
;·A 
Dismissing the Writ Petitions, 
B 
.c 
'D 
E 
.F 
HELD : l{i) 
It will be appropriate if a detailed reference to the Rules 
is made in order to 
ascertain the Scheme. 
The Rules contemplate that there 
shall be separate cadres in respect of Section Officers' grade and the Assistants' 
Grade and these shall be consiituted for each Ministry or Office specified in 
Column 2 of the first schedule. 
Sub-rule (6) of Rule 13 prescribes that 50% 
of the vacancies in the Assistants' grade in any cadre is to be filled by direct 
recruitment on the results "ofthe··competitive· examinations to be conducted 
by the Commission from time to time and the remaining vacancies are to be 
filled by substantive· appointment -of persons incIUded in the select list for the 
Assistants' grade in that cadre. 
Such appointments are to be made in the 
order of seniority in the select list ~xcept when for reasons to be recorded in 
writing. a person is Dot considered fit· for appointment in his tum. . When 
difficulties were experienced in working out the Rule, two provison were added 
to sub-rule(6). 
The first proviso provided. th3.t substantive vacancies in any 
cadre reserved for direct recruitment on the appointed day against which no 
·direct recrUils h3.ve been appointed may be filled by subst~ntive appointments 
made after the date of commencement of the Central Secretariat Service (Third 
Amendment) Rules, 1970, of persons included in· the Select List for the Assis-
tants~ grade / ~n t~at cadre. 
The· second proviso' was to the effect that if 
sufficient. number of candidates are not available for.filling up the vacancies 
in a cadre in any year by direct recruitment as aforesaid, the unfilled vacancies 
in the direct recruitment quota in that cadre shall bei filled by the substantive 
appointment of persons included in the Select List for the Assistants' Grade 
in that cadre." 
Sub-rule (6).(a) provides that notwithstanding anything con· 
tained in sub-rule (6), the substantive vacancies reserved for direct recruitment 
as on 30th June 1979 on each cadre against which nO ·direct recruits have been 
appointed till that d

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