HC directs govt to revise ASO seniority list based on appointment date
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Cuttack: Orissa high court has directed the state govt to revise the seniority list of assistant section officers (ASOs)in the Odisha Secretariat Service, impacting hundreds of employees.
The vacation bench's verdict settles a long-standing dispute concerning seniority among two batches of ASOs — direct recruits appointed through two separate advertisements and between promotees and direct recruits.
Further, the verdict brings clarity to service-related disputes that lingered for years while providing relief to employees who were appointed earlier but placed lower in the final gradation list of ASOs published on June 11, 2020.
A total of 10 writ petitions were clubbed together for hearing, categorised into two groups. The first group, comprising seven petitions, involved a dispute between two sets of direct recruits: one recruited under Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC)'s advertisement no. 06 dated May 14, 2015, for ST category candidates (140), and another (811) under advertisement no. 08 of Oct 6, 2012. The second group of three petitions involved disputes between promotees and direct recruits.
The HC noted that although advertisement no. 6 was issued earlier, appointments from the list were delayed until Oct 2016 due to legal hurdles and administrative delays. In contrast, candidates under the 2015 advertisement were appointed earlier — on Jan 27 and May 18, 2016.
In the judgment on June 3, the vacation bench of Justice B P Routray upheld the principle that seniority in govt service should be based on the actual date of appointment, not the date of the recruitment advertisement or recommendation — unless a rule explicitly states otherwise.
Justice Routray ruled that ASOs appointed earlier in 2016 under advertisement no. 6 must be placed above those appointed later in the same year under advertisement no. 8 in the final gradation list published on June 11, 2020.
Justice Routray further ruled that promotees must be treated as en-bloc seniors to the direct recruits of the same calendar year. Accordingly, Justice Routray ordered the home department to revise the ASO gradation list in line with the HC's directives, ensuring that seniority reflects the actual date of appointment. The judgment reinforced a key service jurisprudence, "He who is appointed earlier, ranks earlier.
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