In a significant ruling, the Allahabad High Court, Lucknow Bench, has reaffirmed the principle that settled seniority cannot be disturbed after an extended period. The decision was pronounced by Justice Alok Mathur in the case of Shiv Datt Joshi & Others v. State of U.P. & Others [Writ-A No. 9193 of 2023], along with Sanjeev Kumar Sinha & Others v. State of U.P. & Others [Writ-A No. 5381 of 2024].
Background of the Case
The dispute revolved around the seniority of Review Officers in the Secretariat Administration Department, Uttar Pradesh. The petitioners, who were initially appointed as Junior Grade Clerks in 1990 and later promoted as Assistant Review Officers in 2005, were granted promotion to the post of Review Officers in 2016. The petitioners had been assigned seniority based on their promotion from June 30, 2016, under the U.P. Government Servant Seniority Rules, 1991.
However, on August 9, 2023, the state government issued an order altering the date of appointment of the petitioners from June 30, 2016, to July 13, 2016. This modification led to the petitioners being pushed back in the seniority list, affecting their promotional prospects and placing them below direct recruits of the 2013 batch. A final seniority list was subsequently issued on September 6, 2023, and promotions were granted accordingly on October 25, 2023, in favor of the direct recruits.
Key Legal Issues
The central questions before the High Court were:
Whether the settled seniority of the petitioners could be altered after a lapse of several years.
Whether the state government possessed the authority to review a finalized seniority list in the absence of statutory provisions.
Whether the modification in the seniority list was arbitrary and in violation of the principles of natural justice.
Court’s Observations and Decision
In a strongly worded judgment, the court ruled that the impugned orders violated the established legal principle of stare decisis and could not be sustained in law. Citing a plethora of Supreme Court precedents, the court observed:
“Seniority once settled cannot be unsettled after lapse of many years. Stare decisis et non quieta movere is a Latin phrase that means ‘to stand by decided matters and not to disturb settled points.’”
The court emphasized that the state government had thrice upheld the petitioners’ seniority and rejected objections from the direct recruits in 2016, 2019, and 2022. Once an authority exercises quasi-judicial powers in determining seniority, it is bound by its own decision unless a provision for review exists under the statutory rules.
The court also underscored the doctrine of functus officio, holding that the state government could not repeatedly reexamine an issue that had already attained finality. Quoting from Lalit Narayan Mishra v. State of Himachal Pradesh (2016 SCC OnLine HP 2866), the judgment stated:
“‘Functus officio’ means that a public officer is without further authority or legal competence once the duties and functions of the original commission have been fully accomplished.”
The court further rejected the argument that the non-impleadment of all affected parties rendered the petitions non-maintainable. It relied on the Supreme Court’s judgment in Ajay Kumar Shukla v. Arvind Rai (2022) 12 SCC 579, which held that in service-related disputes, impleadment of a representative section of affected employees suffices.
Final Verdict
The High Court quashed the state government’s order dated August 9, 2023, the revised seniority list of September 6, 2023, and the consequential promotion orders of October 25, 2023. The respondents were directed to restore the petitioners’ seniority from July 13, 2016, and prepare a fresh seniority list accordingly.
Representation
The petitioners were represented by advocates Gaurav Mehrotra, Rani Singh, Ritika Singh, Harsh Vardhan Mehrotra, and Jai Narayan Pandey, while the state government was represented by Additional Advocate General Kuldeep Pati Tripathi and Akhilesh Kumar Kalra. Other counsel for the respondents included Jyotiresh Pandey, Pooja Singh, Rajesh Chandra Mishra, Santosh Kumar Mishra, and Varadraj Shreedutt Ojha.
