Holding

The petitioner was only accepted as a candidate, not appointed; seniority is fixed by the date of substantive appointment (3 January 1978), and military service after the emergency cannot be counted, so no violation of Articles 14 and 16 occurred.

Summary

The petitioner, a former army captain, was accepted as a Class ‘A’ Tahsildar candidate on 13 September 1974, underwent training and was substantively appointed as Tahsildar on 3 January 1978. He sought to have his military service during the Emergency (1963‑68) and thereafter counted towards seniority from 26 September 1974 under the Punjab Emergency (Concession) Rules, 1965, alleging that junior candidates were promoted ahead of him in violation of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. The Court held that the document (Annexure P‑5) was merely an acceptance of candidature, not an appointment, and that seniority is governed by Rule 11 of the Tahsildari Rules, i.e., the date of substantive appointment, which was 3 January 1978. The Emergency Concession Rules apply only to military service rendered during the period of the proclaimed emergency and to enlisted or commissioned service, which the petitioner’s later service did not satisfy. Consequently, no discrimination was established and the petition was dismissed.

Issues considered

The nature of Annexure P‑5: whether it constitutes an appointment or merely acceptance of candidature.
Whether seniority of a Tahsildar is determined by the date of substantive appointment under Rule 11 of the Tahsildari Rules.
Whether military service rendered after the termination of the emergency can be counted for seniority under the Punjab Emergency (Concession) Rules, 1965.
Whether the denial of seniority to the petitioner amounts to a violation of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.
Whether the petition is barred by res judicata.

Legislation cited

Constitution of Indias. Article 14, s. Article 16, s. Article 32, s. Article 352
Punjab Emergency (Concession) Rules, 1965s. Rule 2, s. Rule 4(ii)
Punjab Tahsildari Rules, 1932s. Rule 10, s. Rule 11, s. Rule 5
Standing Order No. 12 of 1909 (Part A)

Subjects

senioritymilitary serviceemergency concession rulesTahsildar recruitmentArticles 14 and 16appointment vs acceptancewrit petitionArticle 32

Judgment

55

(EX) CAPT. RANDHIR SINGH DHULL A
v.
S. D. BHAMBRI & OTHERS

March 2, 1981

[R. S. PATHAK, 0. CHINNAPPA REDDY AND BAHARUL ISLAM, JJ.]
B

Punjab Tahsildari Rules 1932, Rules 5 and II and Standing Order Na. 12
of 1909, Part A, Para 4(1) and Punjab Emergency (Concession) Rules 1965, Rules
2 and 4(ii)-Class 'A' Tahsildar-Recruitment-Candidates initially 'accepted'
and thereafter 'appointed'-Seniority-Determined by date of substantive appoint-
ment in the post-Military service rendered by a candidate-Concession in senio-
rity-When admissible.
c
Standing Order No. 12 of 1909 (Part A) provides for.two classes of Tahsildar
candidates (1) class 'A' (or direct) and (2) class 'B'. Para 4 (1) of the Standing
Order read with the Punjab Tahsildari Rules 1932 provides that candidates are
required to undergo training for a period of three years in the case of class 'A'
direct recruits. In addition to the completion of training a candidate is required
to pass a qualifying departmental examination before he is eligible to be appornted D
to the post of Tahsildar, temporary or permanent.

Initially, a tahsildar candidate is not enrolled against any post, nor is he
appointed against any vacancy but is appointed against vacancies after completing
the training and passing the examination held. After appointment to the post of
tahsildar, the officer has to be on probation for a period of two years under Rule
10 of the Tahsildari Rules. Rule 11 provides that the seniority of members of the E
service shall be determined by the date of substantive appointment in the post.

The Punjab Emergency (Concession) Rules, 1965 provides by sub-rule (ii) of
Rule 4 that the period of 'military service' shall be taken into consideration for
the purpose of determining the seniority of a person who has rendered military
service.

The petitioner in his writ petition contended, that he appeared in the F

' )
class 'A' Tahsildar candidate Haryana Civil Services (Executive Branch)
Services Examination 1972-73 and was accepted as 'A' Class Tahsil<lar
candidate on September 13, 1974 and joined the civil post with effect from
September 26, 1974. After completing the training he was appointed to the post
on January 3, 1978. He approached respondent No. 1 under Rule 4(1) and (ii)
of the Punjab Emergency (Concession) Rules, 1965 and requested that the mili-
tary service rendered by him from 1963 to 1974 except for the P.eriod from July 2, G
1968 to October 13, 1968 be tagged on to his services with effect from September
26, 1974 for the purpose of his seniority, increments, promotion, pensions etc.
and that respondent No. l did not give this facility though it was accorded to
other respondents, and that the promotion of respondents Nos. 3 to 18 who were
junior to him had violated Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.
H
The first respondent claimed that the petitioner was accepted as class 'A'
Tahsildar candidate on 13th September, 1974 and that he had qualified himself
56 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1981] 3 s.c.R.

A for the post of Tahsildar after he had completed the prescribed training and
successfully qualified in the departmental examination and that he was appointed
as Tahsildar by the order dated January 3, 1978. As the petitioner had been in
service in the Armed Forces from April 29, 1963 to January 10, 1968 on which
day termination of the Emergency was declared, the petitioner was given the bene-
fit of the service and his seniority was fixed as on May 26, 1973 in accordance
with the provisions of Rule 4, sub-clause (ii) read with Rule 2 of the Punjab
B Emergency (Concession) Rules 1965.

Dismissing the petition,

HELD : 1. The petitioner was not appointed to but accepted as a candi-
date for the post of Tahsildar. [63 D]

In the instant case a perusal of the letter of appointment Annexure P-S
c alongwith sub-rules 2 and 3 of Rules S and 11 of the Tahsildari Rules shows that
the petitioner was merely accepted as a candidate for the post of Tahsildar. It
is mentioned therein that the terms and conditions of the service namely training,
passing of departmental examination, and probation are to be governed by the
Tahsildari Rules and Standing Order No. 12 as amended from time to time. A
candidate had to fulfil the said terms and conditions mentioned before his
appointment to the post of Tahsildar. [62 H-63 D]
D
2. The petitioner's substantive appointment was by order dated January 3,
1978. It is clear from the said order that the substantive appointment of the
petitioner cannot be before the said date. [63 E, 64 F]

3. The military service of the petitioner from January 11, 1962 to July 1,
1968 and again from October 31, 1968 to September 22, 1974 was not during the
operation of emergency. The petitioner's service from October 31, 1969 to
E September 22, 1974 was not as an "enrolled or commissioned service in any of
the three wings of the Indian Armed Forces." During this period the petitioner
had been allowed the benefit of service rendered by him in the Army for the
period from April 29, 1963 to January 10, 1968 by the order dated December
14, 1978 of the Financial Commissioner. [ 66 C]

4. The petitioner has not been able to point out that any of the respondent
F Nos. 3 to 18 was given seniority from the date of acceptance. In fact none of
them was accepted alongwith him by letter dated September 13, 1974. [67A]

ORIGINAL JURISDICTION: Writ Petition No. 1099 of 1979.

(Under Article 32 of the Constitution)
G R. K. Garg, P. C. Bhartari, K. S. Tiwari, Arvind Kumar and
Mrs. Laxmi Arvind for the Appellant.
K. G. Bhagat and M. N. Shroff for Respondents I & 2.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
BAHARUL !SLAM, J. This is an application under Art. 32 of
the Constitution of India. The Petitioner, Ex.-Capt. Randhir Singh
CAPT. R.S. DHULL v. S.D. BHAMBRI (Baharul Islam, J,) 57

Dhull prays that the military services rendered by him from 1963 to A
1974 (except for the period during 1968 from 2.7.68 to 13.10.1968)
be tagged to his services with effect from 26.9.1974 for the purpose
· of his seniority, increments, promotion, pensions etc., and for a
direction to respondent no. l, the State of Haryana, to promote him
to the Haryana Civil Service (Emergency Branch) on the basis of the
seniority claimed with effect from the date mentioned above. His B
grievance is that respondents no. 3 to 18 who were junior to him
had been promoted and put above him. The impugned action of
respondent no. I, according to the petitioner, has violated Arts. 14
and 16 of the Constitution. ·

2. This case has a chequered career. The material facts may
be stated in a short compass. The petitioner is an ex-army person-
c
nel, his rank having been Captain. He served during the period of
Emergency from 29-4-1963 to 1-7-1968 and also during the period
of Emergency from 31.10.1969 to 22.9.1974, the total period of
service thus having been 10 years, . one month and 23 days before his .
appointment t-0 the present post he is now holding. D
3. The respondent no. 1 through the Haryana Public. Service
Commission by an advertisement called for applications that a com-
bined competitive examination for recruitment to, inter alia, "A
Class Tahsildar (Apprentices) wouH.l be held by the Haryana Public
Service Commission at Chandigarh in March, 1973 in accordance E
with the rules contained in the· Punjab Public Service (Executive
Branch) Rules, 1930. The petitioner appeared in the said examina-
tion and was successful and as a result he was appointed to present
post of Tahsildar Class II post............ against reserved post/service
for ex-services."
4. There is a set of rules called the Punjab Emergency (Conce-
ssion) Rules, 1965 (hereinafter 'the Emergency Concession Rules').
F
According to the petitioner he joined civil post on 26.9.74 and under
Rule 4(i) & (ii) of the aforesaid Rules and the administrative instruc-
tions his services arc required to be counted immediately on his
joining the Civil post namely with effect from 26.9.1974, tagging the
period of military services to the present post. But as respondent
G
no. 1 did not do so, he sent several representations to respondent
no. I to give him the benefit of seniority, promotion, increment etc.
according to the said set of Rules. The petitioner alleges that while
respondent no. I did not tag the petitioner's period of military service
towards his seniority; promotion and increment. respondent no. J
gave similar facilities to Capt. Phu! Singh, Kewal Singh, Indraj Singh, H
H. R. Kapur and other respondents. His further allegation is that
58 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1981] 3 s.c.R.

A while he has been deprived of his dues mentioned above, respondent
nos. 3 to 18, who were junior to him were promoted to be put above
him.

As the respondent no. I did not favourably react to the repre-
sentations made by the petitioner, he filed a Writ Petition, being
B W. P. No. 1398/77,, in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana but
he withdrew it on a promise made by the Counsel of respondent no. I.
But as respondent no. I did not keep the promise he filed an appli-
cation for review of the order made in W. P. No. 1398 of 1977. The
petition for review was rejected but he was permitted by the High
Court of Punjab and Haryana to file a fresh application. He then
C filed CWP No. 3584 of 1977 which was dismissed in August, 1978
by a single Judge of the said High Court. The petitioner filed Letters
Patent Appeal from the judgment of the single Judge. The Letters
Patent Appeal was also dismissed. The petitioner then filed a special
leave petition before this Court. The special leave petition was also
dismissed. He then filed an application for review before this Court.
D The application for review was also dismissed in limine.' The petiti-
oner then filed an application before the single Judge of the High
Court of Punjab and Haryana for the review of his judgment but it
was dismissed in April, 1979. Against that order a special leave peti-
tion, being S.L.P. (Civil) No. 4475ef1979, was filed before this Court.
The Special Leave Petition was allowed to be withdrawn by this
E Court with liberty to the petitioner to file a Regular Writ Petition
under Article 32 of the Constitution by. Order dated 27.8.79. The
, petitioner has thus filed the present writ application.

5. Respondent No. I (hereinafter 'the respondent') has filed
a counter affidavit. The contention of the respondent is that by
F Annexure P. 5 the petitioner was not appointed to the post of Tahsil-
dar but he was accepted as a Tahsildar candidate. In other words,
the Respondent's contention is that the petitioner was accepted as
an Apprentice for appointment to the post of Tahsildar after he
qualified in the Haryana Civil Service (Executive Branch) and Allied
Services Examination held by the Haryana Public Service Commission
G in 1972-1973 in accordance with the rules in force for selection of
'A' class Tahsildar-apprentices. According to the respondent the
petitioner was accepted by the Financial Commissioner, Haryana, as
a candidate, for the post of Tahsildar in the State of Haryana on
13th September, 1974 as per Annexure P. 5. The respondent has
H explained the procedure. The procedure is that candidates for the
post of Tahsildar ate required under para 4(1) of the Standing Order
No. 12 (hereinafter 'the Standing Order') issued by the Financial
CAPT. R.S. DHULL v. S.D. BHAMBRI (Baharul Islam, J.) 59

Commissioners read with Rule 5 of the Punjab Tahsildari Rules A
1932, (hereinafter 'the Tahsildari Rules') to undergo training for a
period of three years in the case of directly recruited candidates
categorised as 'A' Class. In the case of candidates recruited other-
wise are categorised as 'B' class candidates; the training period is
fixed by the Financial Commissioner keeping in view candidates',
experience and qualification. In addition to the completion of B
training, candidates are required to pass certain qualifying depart-
mental examination before he is eligible to be appointed to the post
of Tahsildar, temporary or permanent. Initially the tahsildar candida-
tes are not enrolled against any post, nor are they appointed against
any vacancy but they are appointed against vacancies after they
have completed the training and passing the examination held. c
After appointment to the post of Tahsildar the Officer has to
be on probation for a period of two years under Rule 10 of the
Tahsildari Rules. According to the respondent the petitioner was
accepted as Class 'A' Tahsildar candidate/apprentice on 13th
September, 1974. The petitioner qualified himself for the post of
Tahsildar after he had completed the prescribed traiTJ ing and success- D
fully qualified in the departmental examination and he along with 6
others was appointed as Tahsildar in the post of Tahsildar by Order
dated 3rd January 1978.

The respondent's case is that 'as the petitioner had been in
service in Armed Forces from April 29, 1963 to January 10, 1968
on which date termination of the Emergency was declared under
Art. 352 of the Constitution with effect from 26th October, 1962, the
petitioner was given the benefit of the sery_ice and his seniority was
fixed as on 27th May 1973 in accordance with the provisions of
Rule 4(ii) read with Rule 2 of the Emergency Concession Rules, 1965
(Annexure 'B'). F

6. The decision of this case depends primarily on the true
and correct interpretation of the document, Annexure P-5 :

. (i) Whether it is a letter of appointment of the petitioner to
G
""r the post of Tahsildar, as claimed by the petitioner, or

(ii) Whether it is a letter of acceptance of the candidature of
the petitioner to the post Lof Tahsildar, as contended by
the respondent. The material portion of document H
Annexure p.5 reads :
60 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1981] 3 S.C.R.

A "From

The Financial Commissioner & Secretary to Govern-
ment, Haryana, Revenue Department.

To
B I. Shri Raj Kumar Aggarwal... .............. .

2. Shri Amarnath Ichhpujani ................. :

3. Shri Ashok Kumar Visistha .............. .

c 4. Shri Kamal Kumar Gupta ..·.............. ..

5. Shri Hard hull Singh Bhole ................. .

6. Shri Randhir Singh Dhull (Petitioner)

7. Shri Nepal Singh Tanwar ................. .
D Memo No. 3896-E-II-74/30535

Chandigarh, dated the 13th September, 1974
•
Subject ; Acceptance of class 'A' Tahsildar candidate Haryana
Civil Services (Executive Branch) a~d other services
E examinations 1972-73.

The Financial Commissioner, Revenue Haryana is
pleased to accept Sarvshri Raj Kumar Aggarwal, Amar
Nath Ichhpujimi, Ashok Kumar Vasistha, Kamal Gupta,
Hardhul Singh Hhole, Randhir Singh Dhull and Nepal
F Singh Tan war as 'A' Class Tahsildar candidates. The
acceptance of Sarvshri Ashok Kumar Vasistha and Har-
dhul Singh Bhole is subject to verification of their charac- ·
ter and antecedents.

2. The interse seniority of the above candidates will be
G communicated to them later.

3. The arrangements for their training will be made by the
Commissioners, Ambala and Hissar Division, who are
being asked to communicate the programme of training
to them. They are allotted to the Commissioners, Ambala
and Hissar Division for training as under :
CAPT. R.S. DHULL v. S.D. BHAMBRI •(Baharul Islam, J.) 61

COMMISSIONER, COMMISSIONER, A
AMBALA DIV. HISSAR DIV.

I. Shri Raj Kumar I. Shri Kamal Kumar
Aggarwal Gupta

2. Shri Amarnath 2. Shri Hardhul Singh B
Ichhpujani Bhole

3. Shri Randhir 3. Shri Ashok Kumar
Vasistha

Shri Nepal Singh
4.
Tanwar
c
4. The terms and conditions of their service, training, passing
of departmental examination, probation etc. will be
governed by the Punjab Tahsildari Rules, 1932 and the
Financial Commissioner's Standing Order No. 12 as
amended from time to time. D

5. During the period of their training they shall draw pay at
the rate of the minimum of the time scale of the post of
Tahsildar of Rs. 350-25-500-30-650-800 viz. Rs. 350/-
P.M.

6. They are requested to intimate their Home Districts and
the districts in which they have property to the Commi-
ssioner of Divisions to whom they have been allotted for
imparting training, and this department,

7. The receipt of this communication may please be F
acknowledged.

Sd/-
Deputy Secretary Revenue,
Financial Commissioner and Secretary to
Government, Haryana and Revenue G
Department."
(emphasis added)

7. Annexure P-5 is based on the Standing Order, and the
Tahsildari Rules. The Standing Order, inter alia, says that the H
rules for the appointment, removal and discipline of Tahsildars
and Naib Tahsi!dars are contained in the Tahsildari Rules.
62 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1981] 3 S.C.R.

A Part A of the Standing Order speaks of two classes of
Tahsildar:

(I) Class A (or direct) candidates and (2) Class B candidates.

The relevant provisions of Rule 5 of Tahsildari Rules may be
extracted;
B
"5 (1) No person shall be directly appointed to the service
unless in the case of appointment to the post of

(a) Tahsildar, he is graduate of a recognised university

c (b)

(2) No person shall be appointed directly or by transfer to
the service or promoted from the post of Naib Tahsildar to
that of Tahsildar unless he shall have become qualified by
passing the examination or undergoing the training prescribed
from time to time in the Standing Orders of the Financial
D Commissioners.

(3) No person shall be appointed directly or by transfer to
the service unless he has been accepted as a candidate in the
case of Tahsildar by the Financial Commissioners and in the
case of Naib Tahsildar by the Commissioner under the condi-
E tions prescribed from time to time in the Standing Orders of
the Financial Commissioners".

(emphasis added)

Rule 11 speaks of the seniority of service and need be
F quoted :

"11. The seniority of members of the service shall in so far
as any post is concerned be determined by the date of substan-
tive appointment in the post ............ "
(emphasis added)
G
'Service' has been defined in the Tahsildari Rules as :

"Service means the Punjab Service of Tahsildars and Nail>.
Tahsildars".

H 8. A perusal of the letter as per Annexure P. 5 alongwith
sub-rules 2 and 3 of rule 5 and rule 11 of the Tahsildari Rules clearly
CAPT. R.S. DHULL v. S.D. BHAMBRI (Baharul Islam, J.) 63

show that by letter Annexure P. 5 the petitioner was merely accepted A
as a candidate for the post of Tahsildar. Annexure P. 5 itself has
mentioned the terms and conditions of the service namely training,
passing of departmental examination and probation to be governed
by the Tahsildari Rules and Standing Order No. 12 as amended
from time to time. A candidate had to fulfil the terms and condi-
tions named in the letter before his appointment to the post of B
Tahsildar. The terms and conditions were :
(i) to undergo a period of training
(ii) to pass a departmental examination.
(iii) to undergo a period of probation, etc.
c
Fulfilments of thes_e terms and conditions by a candidate were
conditions precedent to his appointment. Annexure P. 5
has nowhere mentioned that the petitioner was appointed as
a Tahsildar.
D
We therefore have no hesitation in holding that he was not
appointed to, but accepted as candidate for, the post of Tahsildar,
by Annexure P. 5.
9. Rule 11 lays down that the seniority of the members of
the service shall be determined by the date of the substantive _
appointment in the post. The petitioner's substantive appointment E
was vi de order dated 3. I. 78. (Annexure A to the Counter Affidavit)
which reads as :

"Subject: Declaration of 'A' Class Tahsildar candidate (under
training as Naib Tahsildar) as qualified for the
post of Tahsildar. F
In Exercise of the powers vested in him vide para 6 of the
Financial Commissioners Standing Order No. 12, the Financial
Commissioner, Revenue is pleased to declare the following 'A'
Class Tahsildar candidates as qualified for the post of
Tahsildar ; G
I. Shri Amar Nath Ichbpujani, under training as Naib
Tabsildar, Tbanesar.
2. Shri Ashok Vasbisitha, under Training as Naib Tahsildar,
Gurgaon.
H
3. Shri Kamal Kumar_ Gupta, under training as Naib Tahsil-
dar, Rohtak.
64 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1981) 3 S.C.R.

A 4. Shri Hardhul Singh Bhole, under training as Naib Tahsil-
dar, Mohindergarh.

5. Shri Randhir Singh Dhull, under training as Naib Tahsil-
dar working as Tahsildar, Kalka, under local arrange-
ment.
B 6. Shri Nepal Singh Tanwar, under training as Naib Tahsil-
dar, Rawal.

2. Consequent upon the declaration of the above 'A' Class
Tahsildar candidates as qualified for the post of Tahsildar,
they are appointed as Tahsildars. The orders about their dep-
c loyment against the posts of Tahsildars are being issued
separately. Their appointment as Tahsildar shall take effect
from the date they assume charge of those posts. Their
appointment as Tahsildars· will be governed by the Punjab
Tahsildari Rules, 1932, and the Financial Commissioners
Standing Order No. 12, as amended from time to time.
D
3. The declaration of Shri Hardhul Singh Bhole (sl. no. 4
above) as qualified for the post of Tahsildar and his conse-
quent appointment as such, is subject to the condition that
he should qualify the tahsildar's examination in Urdu paper
within 6 months from the d.ate of issue of this letter.
E Sd/-
Deputy Secretary to Govt.,
Haryana.
Revenue Department.".
(emphas'is added)
F
From Annexure A, it is clear that the date of the substantive r
appointment of the petitioner cannot be before 3.1.78.

10. Standing Order No. 12 of 1909 (Part A), as stated above,
mentions two classes of "Tahsildar candidates": (i) Class A (or
G direct) and (ii) Class B. We are not concerned with class B tahsil-
dar. Class A (or direct) candidates, according to Order No. 12,
"must belong to families of tried loyalty and distinguished services,
and must be of good social status and influence in the country
or members of a class the introduction of which into the public
H ~ service it is considered desirable especially to encourage ......... "
(emphasis added)
CAPT. R.S. DHULL v. S.D. BHAMBRI (Baharul Islam, J.) 65

The petitioner submits that Standing Order No. 12 which is a A
part of the Tahsildari Rules does not survive the Constitution. We
do not feel called upon to decide this point in this case as the peti-
tioner cannot be allowed to raise the point for two reasons :-

(i) The basis of the petitioner's case . all throughout, at all
stages, was Annexure P. 5 based on the Tahsildari Rules B
and Standing Order No. 12. Even now he does not claim
his appointment on any other basis ; ·

(ii) Secondly, if the Tahsildari Rules and the Standing Order
No. 12 are held to be ultra vires, the letter of acceptance
(or letter of appointment ·as the petitioner erronously calls
it) which was issued under the provisions of the said
c
Rules, will disappear and the petitioner will have no legs
to stand on.

11. Rule 11 of the Tahsildari Rules has been quoted above.
It provides for the seniority of the members of the service. It is tO D
be determined by the date of the substantive appointment in the
post.

The petitioner however claims that he is entitled to get the
benefit of his service in the army during the Emergency, under the
provisions of the Emergency (Concession) Rules ; E
Sub-rule (ii) of Rule 4 of the Emergency Concession Rules
reads :

"4 (ii) Seniority :-The period of military service mentioned
in Clause (i) shall be taken into consideration for the purpose
of determining the seniority of a person who has rendered F
military service."

Military service is defined in rule 2 thus :

"For the purpose of these rules, the expression "military
service" means the service rendered by a person, who had been G
enrolled or commissioned during the period of operation of
the proclamation of emergency made by the President under
Art. 352 of the Constitution of India on the 26th October, 1962
in any of the three wings of the Indian Armed Forces (including
the service as a Warrant Officer) during the period of the said H
Emergency or such other service as may hereafter be declared
as military service for the purpose of these rules. Any period
66 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1981] 3 S.C.R.

A of military training followed by military service shall also be
reckoned as military service.

A perusal of the rule quoted above shows that the Concession
in seniority is admissible (i) in respect of military services rendered
during the operation of emergency only and not for any military
B services after the termination of emergency and (ii) only if
the service ·in the military is as "enrolled or commissioned
service in any of the three wings of the Indian Armed Forces."
The military service of the petitioner from January 11, 1962
to July I, 1968 and again from 31.10.1968 to 22.9.1974 was
not during the operation of emergency in question. Further
c th~ petitioner's service from October 31, 1969 to September
22, 1974 was not as an "enrolled or commissioned service in any of
the three wings of the Indian Armed Forces." During this period
the petitioner has been allowed the benefit of seniority under the
Emergency Concession Rules by Order dated 14.12.78 of the Finan-
cial Commissioner, Revenue, Haryana in the following terms :
D
"In pursuance of provisions of rule 4 (i) and (ii) of the Punjab
Government National Emergency (Concession) Rules, 1965
issued vide Punjab Government Notification No. GSR-160.
Const/Art. 309/65, dated the 20th July 1965 as amended vide
Haryana Govt. Notification No. GSR-182/Const. Art. 309/
E Amd (2)-76, dated the 4th August, 1976. Shri Randhir Singh y
Dhull, 'a' Class Tahsildar is allowed the benefit of service ren-
dered by him in the Army during the National Emergency as
an Emergency Commissioned Officer for the period from 29th
April 1963 to 10th January, 1968 towards seniority and his
seniority is fixed immediately below Shri Jaswant Singh
F Rajput among the 'A' class Tahsildars. His date of appoint-
ment as Tahsildar will be 27th May 1973.

2. Further his pay is fixed at Rs. 450/- P.M. in the scale of
Rs. 350-25-500/30-650/30-800 with effect from 8.2.78 (his
actual date of appointment to the post of Tahsildar) and his'
next increment raising his pay to Rs. 475/-P. M. is 1.2.79. He
G will not be entitled to any arrears of pay as a result of the
above fixation prior to 8.2.1978.

3. The above period of Army Service shall count for pension
only after Shri Dhull has deposited the bonus or gratuity
H received by him from military authorities.
CAPT. R.S. DHULL v. S.D. BHAMBRI (Baharul Islam, J.) 61

12, The petitioner has not been able to point out that any A
of the respondents No. 3 to 18 were given seniority from the
date of acceptance. Jn fact none of them was accepted alongwith
him by letter dated 13.9.74.

13. The petitioner's further grievance is that the military
service of the Captain K. Phool Singh, Captain Khem Singh Lathar, B
Shri Inder Singh, Captain A. R. Kohar and Captain B. K, Batra
mentioned in para 8 of the petition have been counted for the bene-
fit of their seniority etc. The petitioner's grievance is baseless.
Their cases were different. None of them was given the benefit of
his service from the date he joined as a 'Candidate'. The respon-
dent in the counter affidavit asserts that not a single ex-army service c
Tahsildar Candidate has been allowed the benefit of mili.ary service
from the date of acceptance as class 'A' Tahsildar candidate.

14. The petitioner has not been able to make out any case of
discrimination and violation of Arts. 14 and 16 of the Constitution.
The. petition has no merit and is dismissed. We however leave the D
parties to bear their own costs.

15. Mr. Bhagat, the learned Counsel appearing for the Res-
pondent, submitted that the Writ Petition was barred by res iudicata
and in support of his subrr.ission he cited a decision of this Court
reported in AIR 1970 S. C. 898. We need not examine the submi- E
ssion for two reasons :

(i) We have decided the case on merit against the petitioner
and (ii) the petitioner obtained permission of this Court to file a
Writ Petition vide Order 5.9.79 in S. L. P. No. 4475 of 1979
(Annexure P. I)
F
N.V.K. Pl!tition dismissed.