In Brief
A Supreme Court contempt petition arising from alleged violations of the Court's 2016 order on seniority fixation for government employees selected in 1999. The Court held that though dismissal of SLPs does not invoke the doctrine of merger, if reasons are given declaring a principle of law, that declaration is binding on all courts and parties under Article 141. The respondents violated this binding law by publishing a seniority list based on roster point rather than merit, placing lower-marked candidates above higher-marked ones. The Court found multiple officials guilty of contempt and ordered revision of the seniority list based on selection merit within 12 weeks.
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