Kanoon Ki Dastak
Srinagar, April 10, 2025 – In a significant decision affecting hundreds of government officials in Jammu and Kashmir, the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh at Srinagar has upheld the Central Administrative Tribunal’s (CAT) order that quashed Rule 15(4) of the Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS) Rules, 2008. The Court declared the rule illegal and in violation of vested rights, bringing clarity to the long-contested seniority issues among officers inducted into the JKAS between 2004 and 2008.
The division bench, comprising Justice Rajnesh Oswal and Justice Sanjay Dhar, passed the judgment on a series of clubbed writ petitions filed by officers from different JKAS feeder services. The officers, inducted in various years—especially 1992 and 1999—challenged the validity of the final seniority lists and Rule 15(4), which retrospectively adjusted seniority based on the availability of vacancies rather than the actual date of appointment.
The court held that since all officers were inducted into the JKAS before the Rules of 2008 came into force, Rule 15(4) could not retrospectively alter their seniority under the repealed 1979 Rules. “Rule 15(4) and its proviso snatched away vested rights of some members of the service and are thus illegal,” the court observed.
The court emphasized that promotions cannot be granted retrospectively unless explicitly provided in the rules. It reaffirmed the principle that seniority must be reckoned from the actual date of appointment, not the date a vacancy arose. “Retrospective seniority is not permissible in absence of a specific legal provision,” the judgment stated.
While rejecting claims from the 1992 batch officers for backdated seniority based on in-charge postings, the court noted that their service on cadre posts from 2004–2005 was not under a duly prepared select list, hence not qualifying them for retrospective benefit under the rules.
The ruling brings a long-standing administrative and legal tussle to a close, affecting pensionary and promotional entitlements of many JKAS officers. It also reiterates the constitutional requirement of equality in service law, holding the government accountable for consistent and fair application of rules.