S.S. MOGHE & ORS. versus UNION OF INDIA & ORS.

Citation: [1981] 3 S.C.R. 875 · Decided: 08-05-1981 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: Y.V. CHANDRACHUD · Disposal: Dismissed

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

Judgment (excerpt)

S.S. MOGHE & ORS. 
v. 
UNION OF INDIA & ORS. 
May 8, 1981 
[Y.V. CHANDRACHUD, C.J., A.P. SEN AND 
V. BALAKRISHNA ERADI, JJ.] 
Constitution of India 1950, Articles 14, 16, 32 and 309. 
875 
Petitioners in 1979 assailing validity of promotion given to respondents between 
1968 and 1975-No valid explanation for delay in filing petition-Denial of relief. 
No regular cadre and hierarchy of posts-No rules laying down modes of 
appointment/promotion to posts-Government whether competent to fill posts by 
securing services of suitable persons. 
Constitution of a new service-Method of appointment to various posts-
A 
B 
c 
President whether competent to prescribe the methods by which vacancies in the 
D 
different categories are to be filled. 
Aviation Research Centre (Technical) Service Rules, 1976, Rules, 6. 7, 8 
and 12-Va/idity of. 
Civil Service Regulations, Article 26(7)(iii)-lnitia/ constitution of service-
Absorption of deputationists-Whether appointment by transfer. 
The Aviation Research Centre was a temporary and ad hoc Organisation 
set up in 1962 for carrying out the work of collecting intelligence by the use of 
highly sophisticated techniques. For manning this Task Force, persons with 
experience in the specialised nature of the work were taken on deputation basis 
from different sources, such as the Intelligence Bureau, the Departments of 
Defence Science, Wireless Planning 'and Coordination, the Directorate-General 
of Civil Aviation and the Police Cadres of different States and they were grouped 
together to form the ARC. To supplement the man power some persons were 
also directly recurited to the Organisation on a purely ad hoc basis. The ARC 
Organisation was initially treated as an extension of the Intelligence Bureau. In 
February 1965, it was brought under the control of the Director-General of 
Security. The administrative control over the Organisation which was originally 
vested in the Ministry of Exterml Affairs and later with the Prime Minister's 
Secretariat was transferred to the Cabinet Secretariat in 1965. The sanction for 
continuance of the temporary Organisation was accorded by the Government 
from year to year till the year 1971 when a decision was taken by the Government 
to make the ARC a permanent Department. The finalisation of the principles to 
be adopted for constitution of the new permanent Department took considerable 
time and it was only on April 26, 1976 that the President of India promulgated 
the Aviation Research Centre (Technical) Service Rules 1976 providing for the 
constitution of a new service the Aviation Research Centre (Technical) Service. 
E 
F 
G 
H 
A 
B 
c 
D 
E 
F 
G 
H 
876 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
(1981] 3 S.C.R. 
Rule 6 of the said Rules dealt with the initial constitution of the new ARC 
permanent Service and 
provided that all persons holding, as on the appoint-
ed day, any one of the categories of posts specified in rule 4, whether in a 
permanent or tempoarary or officiating capacity or on deputation basis, shall be 
eligible for appointment to the service at the initial constitution thereof. Rule 7 
laid down the principles to be applied for fixation, of seniority of those appointed 
to the various posts at the time of its initial constitution, while Rule 8 dealt with 
the filling up of vacancies in various grades remaining unfilled immediately after 
the initial constitution of the service and all vacancies that may subsequently 
arise in the Department. Rule 12 provided that in regard to matters not specifi-
cally covered by the rules or by order issued by the Government, the members of 
the service shall be governed by general rules, regulations and orders· applicable 
to persons belonging to the corresponding Central Civil Service. 
The petitioners, who were persons recruited directly to the ARC Organisa-
tion during the period between 1965 and 1971 challenged in their writ petition, 
the validity of the promotion given to respondent nos. 8 to 67 from the year 1968 
onwards officers whose services were borrowed on deputation. They contended 
that the deputationists were occupying the posts in the Department. only on 
an ad hoc basis and such ad hoc appointees who were having the benefit of lien 
in their parent departments and were getting promotions in those departments 
had no claim whatever to seniority or promotions in the borrowing department 
viz. A.R.C. 
They also assailed the Aviation Research Centre {Technical) 
Service Rules as cantering arb

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