Tamil Nadu Electricity Board Service Regulations, 1967 – Regn 10(9), 87, 97 – Seniority – Inter-se seniority of the Assistant Engineers (Electrical)-directly recruited and internally selected candidates – Date of the appointment of direct recruits – Seniority of direct recruit to be counted from the first date of their joining after which they were sent for training or from the date the candidate starts his probation:
Held: From the plain language used in the Regulation, it is evident that seniority is to be counted from the placement of a candidate in the merit list which is prepared at the time when recruitment takes place – As provision has been made for two years’ probation after selection, different candidates may join on different dates during the permitted joining time – Period of probation he had to undergo will remain two years from the date he joins duty – Merit will not affect completion of probation – Training is a part of service which is imparted after an incumbent joins duty – Even Regulations treat this as a part of duty – Merely payment of consolidated sum during the period of training and regular scale when the probation starts will not make any difference – That is why Regn 97 does not say anything to the contrary to what is clearly provided in Regns 10(9) and 87 – No Regulation cited from which it can be inferred that the seniority is to be counted from the date a candidate starts his probation – Anything said either in the appointment letter or in any of the BPs which runs contrary to the plain language of Regn 10(9) and 87 will not stand in the way for this Court to form an opinion that the seniority of a direct recruit is to be counted from the first date of their joining after which they were sent for training – Period thus, is irrelevant, it may change from time to time – Impugned judgment passed by the High Court set aside – Opinion expressed by the Division Bench that the seniority will commence from the date the candidate starts his probation totally erroneous and not supported by the plain language used in Regulations. [Paras 19-25]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Nidhi Jain. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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