TMI Blog1991 (3) TMI 397X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ial Tax Service of the State of Tamil Nadu on being selected by the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission through a competitive examination. For rehabilitation of ECOs/Short Service Regular Commissioned Officers (SSRCOs) on their release from the Armed Forces, the Government of Tamil Nadu had by G.O. Ms. No. 84 dated January 1, 1967, reserved 25% of the vacancies to be filled by direct recruitment during the four years 1967-1970 in respect of certain categories of posts in the State services. By Order, G.O. Ms. No. 686 dated March 24, 1970, the Government of Tamil Nadu, in modification of the said order reserved 25% of the vacancies in non-technical posts under various groups (both Gazetted and non-Gazetted) to be filled by direct recruitment during five years commencing from 1969 for rehabilitation of ECOs/SSRCOs on their release from the Armed Forces. The said order made provision for relaxation of age in case of such officers for the purpose of recruitment to the reserved vacancies. As regards seniority provision was made in paragraph 8 of the said order which prescribed as under: Inter-se seniority among the candidates selected for the reserved vacancies will be determined by ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... st reserved vacancies in G.O.Ms. No. 686 dated March 24, 1970, the following procedure was prescribed: (i) the seniority of the Emergency Commissioned/Short Service Regular Commissioned Officers recruited to the State Civil Services (both Gazetted and Non-Gazetted) between 24.3.70 to 4.10.73 against reserved vacancies shall be fixed treating them as belonging to the year in which they would have been appointed to the posts in their first possible attempt after the date of joining military service/ training. 4. After the issuance of the aforesaid order dated November 16, 1976, it was represented to the State Government that the concession granted to the ECOs/SSRCOs recruited to the Civil Services of the State between March 24, 1970 to October 4, 1973 in fixing seniority may be extended to all ECOs/SSRCOs recruited to the Civil Services of the State instead of confining it only to those recruited between 1970 and 1973. The State Government decided to accede to that request and issued a fresh G.O.Ms. No. 734 dated June 15, 1977 whereby the orders in para 1(i) of the Order dated November 16, 1976 were thus modified: 1. (i) The seniority of Emergency Commissioned Officers/ Shor ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s should have been afforded an opportunity of a hearing before passing the impugned order which had not been done in this case. Appeals were filed by the State Government as well as by private respondents against the said decision of the learned Single Judge. The said appeals were decided by a Division Bench of the High Court by its judgment dated July 22, 1976, whereby it was held that the provision with regard to fixation of seniority in the cadre of Commercial Tax Officers (CTOs) in which the petitioners were appointed is governed by Rule 35 of the General Rules which are contained in Part II of the Tamil Nadu State and Subordinate Service Rules made under proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution and under the said rule, seniority is to be fixed on the basis of date of appointment to the service. The learned Judges found that the said Rules had not been amended and in the absence of an amendment in rule 35, the orders with regard to fixation of seniority of ECOs/SSRCOs contained in Orders dated November 16, 1976 and June 15, 1977 were invalid and no rights could accrue to the petitioners on the basis of the said orders which may require affording an opportunity to them. With r ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... : (a) The seniority of a person in a service, class or category or grade shall unless he has been reduced to lower rank as a punishment, be determined by the rank obtained by him in the list of approved candidates drawn up by the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission or other appointing authority, as the case may be, subject to the rule of reservation where it applies. The date of commencement of his probation shall be the date on which he joins duty irrespective of his seniority, (aa) The seniority of a person in a service, class or category or grade shall, where the normal method of recruitment to that service, class, category or grade is by more than one method of recruitment, unless the individual has been reduced to a lower rank as a punishment, be determined with reference to the date on which he is appointed to the service, class, category or grade: 9. This shows that there was an express provision in the statutory rules providing that seniority shall be fixed on the basis of the date of appointment. By orders dated November 16, 1976 and June 15, 1977, the said principle for fixation of seniority contained in rule 35 was sought to be altered in respect of ECOs/SSRCOs ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hey had worked in the Army in the same field in which they are now employed in the State service. The benefit of the experience gained by them during the period of their service in the Army on the posts viz. medical/engineering held by them was available to the State they joined the medical/engineering services of the State of Tamil Nadu. The same cannot be said for the petitioners because the nature of the duties discharged by them in the Army were different from the duties they are now required to perform as CTOs in the State service. It cannot, therefore, be said that the ECOs/SSRCOs who have joined the medical and engineering services of the State of Tamil Nadu and the petitioners who have joined the Commercial Tax Department of the State are persons similarly situate in the matter of determination of seniority and for counting the earlier Army service for that purpose. 11. In Union of India v. Dr. S. Krishna Murthy case (supra), the ECOs/SSRCOs on discharge from the Army had joined the Indian Forest Service and the Indian Police Service and provision was made in the Regulation of Seniority Rules governing these Services whereby it was provided that year of allotment of an o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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