Appointment was conditional upon physical fitness certificate issued by the Civil Surgeon.-SC

The father of the respondent was working as a home guard and after he died in harness, the respondent applied for compassionate appointment. Appointment was conditional upon physical fitness certificate issued by the Civil Surgeon. Adhikar challenged the High Court order through SLP(C) No. 6437 of 1993.The respondent was shortlisted for the post of 'Adhinayak Lipik' in the Homeguard Department, State of Bihar. He was denied appointment as he was found deficient in the physical standards. The resultant Civil Appeal No. 220 of 1996 was allowed by the Supreme Court. There was no direction for allowing retrospective benefit to the appointee. The High Court should not have travelled beyond the order passed by this Court to hold in favour of the respondent. He entered service a decade later only on 10.2.1996 and did not immediately claim the benefit of retrospective appointment. Seniority benefit can accrue only after a person joins service and to say benefits can be earned retrospectively would be erroneous. Seniority amongst members of the same grade has to be counted from the date of initial entry into the grade. This principle emerges from the decision of this Court in Direct Recruit Class II Engineering Officers' Association v State of Maharashtra.The High Court was in error in granting retrospective seniority to the respondent. The appeal is accordingly allowed, and the impugned orders passed by the High Court are set aside and quashed. With this order the case is disposed of leaving the parties to bear their own cost. 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

THE STATE OF BIHAR & ORS. VERSUS ARBIND JEE