Section 2(b) in The Punjab State Agricultural Marketing Service (Punishment and Appeal) Rules, 1988
(b)'appointing authority' in relation to an employee means :(i)the authority empowered to make appointments to the Service of which the employee is for the time being a member or to the grade of the Service in which the employee is for the time being included ; or(ii)the authority empowered to make appointments to the post which the employee for the time being holds ; or(iii)the authority which appointed the employee to service, grade or post, as the case may be ; or(iv)where the employee having been a permanent member of any other Service or having substantively held any other permanent post, has been in continuous employment of the Board, the authority which appointed him to that Service or to any grade in that Service or to the post whichever authority is the highest authority ;
