Rajasthan High Court: The Bench of Arun Bhansali, J. allowed a petition filed to claim seniority on the basis of the merit of the petitioners in the merit list based on common selection.
The facts of the case were that the petitioners had participated in the recruitment process in response to an advertisement issued by Zila Parishad in the year 2012, inviting the applications from the eligible candidates for appointment on the post of Teacher Grade III. The petitioners had earlier instituted writ applications and as a consequence of directions issued by the Court, the result was revised in the month of November 2016; resulting into the appointment of the petitioners on the post of Teacher Grade III (Level I/Level-II). Thus the petitioners had already been accorded appointment. However, State-respondent had declined seniority and other benefits to the petitioners from the date the petitioners became entitled on account of revision of the result while candidates lower in merit to the petitioners have been accorded those benefits. Thus, the petitioners claimed benefit of pay fixation and seniority on a notional basis from the date juniors to the petitioners had been accorded in the same recruitment process of the year 2012.
The Court, while placing reliance on the case of Surja Ram v. State of Rajasthan, SBCW No. 3082/2018, directed the State-respondent to extend the benefit of pay fixation and seniority on notional basis to the petitioners from the date juniors to the petitioners had been accorded with reference to the same recruitment process of the year of 2012. It held that seniority to be assigned as per the inter-se merit of the candidates in the merit list based on common selection. [Prakash Chandra Ahari Bhil v. State Of Rajasthan, 2019 SCC OnLine Raj 254, Order dated 15-03-2019]
