Direct Recruit Class Ii Engineering ... vs State Of Maharashtra And Ors on 2 May, 1990
25. The Apex Court in the Direct Recruitment Class-II Engineering Officers' Association and Ors. v. State of Maharashtra and Ors. (supra) while dwelling on the claim of seniority of the holder of a post not appointed strictly in accordance with the Rules but continuing for long held that once an incumbent is appointed to a post according to Rule, his seniority has to be counted from the date of his appointment and not according to the date of his confirmation. As a corollary of the above proposition, it was observed that where the initial appointment was only adhoc and not according to the Rules and made as a stop gap arrangement, the officiation in a post cannot be taken into account for computing the seniority. The Apex Court, however, was of the view that if the initial appointment was not made by following the procedure laid down by the Rules but the appointee continued in the post uninterruptedly till the regularization of his service in accordance with the Rules, the period of officiating service would be counted.