GUWAHATI, India, Dec. 25 -- Gauhati High Court issued the following order on Nov. 25:

1. We have heard Mr. A. Bhalla, learned Additional Advocate General, Sikkim assisted by Mr. T Bhutia, learned Government Advocate, Sikkim and Mr. P. Choudhury as well as Mr. V. Gang Lepcha, learned Advocates for the appellants and Ms. K.D. Bhutia, learned Advocate, who appeared through video conferencing, along with Mr. A.R. Tahbildar, Mr. L.D. Lepcha and Mr. P. Sherpa, Advocates for the respondent Nos.1 to 10 and Mr. H.K. Das, learned Advocate assisted by Mr. D.J. Kapil, learned Advocate for the proforma respondent Nos.22 and 23.

2. This appeal has been preferred by the State of Sikkim against the judgment dated 25.01.2021 passed by a learned Single Judge of Sikkim High Court in WP(C) No.30/2016.

3. The respondent Nos.1 to 10 herein had been given officiating promotion as Accounts Officers (Gazetted post) on 08.05.2008 but with the clear condition that such promotion would not confer any right to regular promotion and that it would not count for seniority. The regular promotions were only to be made on the recommendation of the Sikkim Public Service Commission (hereinafter to be referred as 'SPSC') after following the full procedure under the Sikkim State Finance & Accounts Service Rules, 1986 (as amended).

4. In 2009, however, the State filled up 50% of the posts of Accounts Officer by direct recruitment through SPSC. The direct recruits joined service sometimes in between January and February, 2009 and were posted substantively against the posts available for Accounts Officers. In the year 2013 (on 16.03.2013), after following the statutory procedure of departmental promotion committee, recommendation by the SPSC etc., the respondent Nos.1 to 10, the officiating promotees, were given regular/substantive promotion as Accounts Officer. They had a burning fear in their minds that they would be put below the direct recruits of 2009 in the seniority which led them to prefer the afore-noted writ petition seeking their seniority to be reckoned from 2008 for two reasons, namely, that they had continuously been officiating in that position and that before 2013, they had been officiating on the vacant posts and had acquired the entitlement for being promoted, provided the State would have undertaken the exercise of subjecting them to limited departmental examination for filling up the 50% of quota of the cadre which had to be filled up from the pool of the promotee officers.

5. The learned Single Judge allowed the writ petition holding that since the respondent Nos.1 to 10 herein were eligible in 2008 to be appointed against the vacancies and had worked continuously as Accounts Officers from 2008, their promotion and seniority must be counted from 08.05.2008.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/ecourtindiaHC/cases/display_pdf.php?filename=QnBUxJ6a3gIx%2B5SFrUiAoK2aCZwrsz43wSWvuR9eKTGv4o7DTqtjEBpZTfglC%2BeL&caseno=WA/158/2021&cCode=1&cino=GAHC010108542021&state_code=6&appFlag=)

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