In a significant judgment, the Jharkhand High Court has clarified that salary protection granted to employees does not automatically confer seniority rights in a different cadre or service. The court emphasized that the benefit of salary protection and the counting of previous service periods are primarily for pension-related benefits. This ruling was delivered by a bench of Justices Sujit Narayan Prasad and Rajesh Kumar.
The court dismissed an appeal, upholding the decision of a single-judge bench. It was explicitly stated that seniority is to be reckoned from the actual date of entry into service and not from the date of any vacancy or by including previous service, unless specifically provided for in the service rules.
The bench cited a Supreme Court order to support its view, stating that the calculation of past service for the purpose of salary protection or for granting selection or special grades does not imply that the employee continues to be part of the former service. The court differentiated between the calculation of service for salary and pension and the determination of seniority, highlighting that the former does not affect other employees, whereas changes in seniority have a direct impact.
The ruling came in response to arguments put forth by the petitioners, who contended that their previous service should also be considered for seniority determination because they had received salary protection. The High Court rejected their plea, leading to the dismissal of their petition.
The case, titled Binod Kumar Mahto and others versus the State of Jharkhand and others, revolved around employees who joined administrative service in 2010 and later opted for a voluntary transfer to the police service in 2012. They sought seniority from 2010, a claim that the court dismissed.