In Brief
A government employee (K.C. Devaki) requested transfer from Staff Nurse to First Division Assistant on medical grounds and expressly consented to be placed below the most junior officer in the new cadre. The Court held that seniority in a transferred post depends on whether the transfer was made in public interest or at the employee's own request. Transfers at the employee's request (even if medically justified) differ from transfers in public interest and must be governed by seniority rules that place the employee below all existing staff in the new cadre. The Court set aside the High Court's decision that had backdated the employee's seniority to their original appointment date, affirming that seniority must commence from the date of entry into the new cadre (1989), not the original appointment date (1979).
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.