Civil Appeals Nos
2902 2903 of 1977
Appeals by Special Leave from the Judgment and Order dated 3 11 1976 of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Civil Writ Petition No 678174
Y section Chitale M N Phadke and P C Bhartari In CA 290377 for the Appellants
G L Sanghvi section K Bagga and Mrs section Bagga for RR 1 2
R section Sodhi for the State of Punjab
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by DESAI J
These two appeals by special leave arise from a common judgment rendered by the High Court of Punjab  Haryana at Chandigarh in Letters Patent Appeals Nos
560 and 564 of 1974 and Civil Writ No 678174
The controversy raised in these appeals turns upon the construction of the Punjab Police Service Rules 1959  Service Rules  for short
A few relevant facts as alleged by respondents 1 and 2 in Civil Appeal No 290378 who moved Civil Writ No 825 of 1972 in the High Court would highlight the problem posed in these appeals
588 Respondents 1 and 2 Gurdip Singh and Dalip Singh filed a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution against the State of Punjab Inspector General of Police Punjab and six others including the present appellants praying for a direction to confirm them in Punjab Police Service
Respondents 1 and 2 alleged that they were promotees to the cadre of Deputy Superintendent of Police of February 1961 and January 1961 respectively having been brought on G  List by an order dated 23rd February 1961 of the State of Punjab and the Inspector General of Police Punjab respondents 3 and 4 herein
Appellants and respondents 5 to 8 were recruited to the same cadre by direct appointment commencing from May 1961 to May 1965
The grievance of respondents 1 and 2 in the petition filed by them was that recruitment to Punjab Police Service is made from two sources namely 80 by promotion and 20 by direct appointment but this quota rule is not adhered to at the time of confirmation in the service and therefore even though they were members of the service since a period earlier to appellants and respondents 5 to 8 they were not confirmed though the latter were confirmed and as seniority in the cadre of Deputy Superintendent of Police is reckoned under rule 10 according to date of confirmation the failure to confirm them in the post available to them in breach of the relevant rules has denied to them equality of opportunity enshrined in Article 16 of the Constitution to be considered for nomination to Indian Police Service which is done according to seniority cum merit
The State of Punjab and Inspector General of Police Punjab on the one hand and the direct recruits on the other contested the writ petition inter alia contending that the quota applies at the stage of initial recruitment and not at the time of confirmation and there is no allegation that the quota rule was violated at the time of initial recruitment
It was further contended that no one can claim to be confirmed as a matter of right and therefore the writ petition is misconceived
Direct recruits to the post of Dy
Superintendent of Police appellants and respondents 5 to 8 further contended that the petitioners were promoted on officiating basis against temporary posts and as there were no permanent posts available they could not be confirmed till substantive vacancies in the permanent strength of the cadre were available and till confirmation their seniority having to be reckoned from the date of confirmation they cannot claim to be senior to the direct recruits on the principle of continuous officiation
The writ petition came up before a learned single Judge of the High Court who was of the opinion that the quota rule is linked with the seniority rule and in order to give a reasonable interpretation and 589 in order not to make the seniority rule unreasonable upon a proper construction it must be held that the quota rule would operate not only at the time of initial recruitment but also at the time of confirmation
In reaching this conclusion the learned single Judge relied upon two decisions of this Court in section G Jaisinghani vs Union of India  Ors1 and Mervyn Coutindo  Ors
vs Collector of Customs Bombay  Ors 2 and some other decisions of other High Courts
The learned single Judge accordingly gave a direction that the writ petitioners respondents 1 and 2 herein should be confirmed
Two appeals being Letters Patent Appeal No 56074 by the present appellant 1 and Letters Patent Appeal No 56474 by the State of Punjab and the Inspector General of Police Punjab were preferred
One Rakha Ram filed Civil Writ No 678174 raising identical contentions and this writ petition was referred to the Division Bench before which the aforementioned two Letters Patent Appeals came up for hearing The Court by a common judgment disposed of all the three matters
Both the Letters Patent Appeals were dismissed and Civil Writ No 678174 by Ram Rakha was allowed but the direction given by the learned single Judge was modified to the extent that the State of Punjab and Inspector General of Police Punjab should consider the cases of writ petitioners 1 and 2 for confirmation and to fix their seniority afresh according to the quota rule
The present two appeals arise from this common judgment preferred by the direct recruits
It may be mentioned that neither the State of Punjab nor the Inspector General of Police Punjab have questioned the decision of the High Court though at the hearing of these appeals Mr R section Sodhi appeared for the State of Punjab and supported the contentions canvassed on behalf of the appellants
As the main controversy turns upon the construction of rules 3 6 8 and 10 of the Service Rules it would be advantageous to get a clear picture of the relevant rules
The Service Rules provide for constitution recruitment qualifications for being members of the service probation pay seniority and discipline of the members of the Service
Rule 3 provides that the Service shall comprise of the posts specified in Appendix A  to the Service Rules
Designation of the Post in Appendix A  is shown to be Deputy Superintendent of Police and the strength of the cadre is shown as 66
The State Government under rule 5 is the appointing authority to the Service
Rule 6 provides for method of recruitment from two different sources viz 80 by promotion from the rank of Inspectors and 20 by direct recruitment
It also prescribes eligibility qualification for promotees
Sub 590 rule 2 of rule 6 provides that appointment by promotion shall be made by he Government from Inspectors brought on List G  and the method of drawing up of List G 
Sub rule 3 provides that direct appointment to the Service shall be made upon the result of a competitive examination conducted by the Punjab Public Service Commission  Commission  for short and further confers power on the Government in consultation with the Commission to frame necessary rules relating to examination
Rule 7 prescribes qualifications of physical fitness
Rule 8 provides that members of the Service shall be on probation for two years which shall include the period of training at the Police Training School Phillaur and in the districts and in the case of members recruited by promotion the Government may be a special order in each case permit periods of officiating appointment to the Service to count towards the period of probation
There is a proviso to the rule which enables the Government to extend the period of probation by not more than one year
Rule 9 provides for pay of members of the Service
Rule 10 provides for seniority of members to be reckoned by the date of confirmation in the Service
Dr Chitaley followed by Mr Phadke urged that the vires validity or reasonableness of rule 10 having not been challenged it was not open to the High Court to put upon rules 6 8 and 10 a construction on the supposed unreasonableness of rule 10 if it is interpreted by giving the language therein used its ordinary grammatical meaning
The High Court applied the quota rule even at the stage of confirmation to avoid the vice of unreasonableness which in the opinion of the High Court would be implicit in rule 10 if any other view were taken
The rules provide for constitution of Service and the Service shall comprise of the posts specified in Appendix A  to the rules
At the relevant time the sanctioned strength of the Service was 66 posts
There is a proviso to rule 3 which enables the Government to make additions to or reductions in the number of such posts whether permanently or temporarily
Rule 6 which provides for method of recruitment in terms says that recruitment to the Service shall be made i 80 by promotion from the rank of Inspectors and ii 20 by direct appointment
Thus there is recruitment to the Service from two independent sources viz promotion and direct recruitment
Once recruitment to any given cadre is from two sources obviously after recruitment is made from two sources they have to be integrated into one cadre which also necessitates providing for their inter se seniority
Rule 10 provides that the seniority of the 591 members of the Service shall be determined by the date of confirmation in the Service
There is a proviso to rule 10 which is not material for the present discussion
On behalf of the promotees it was contended that if seniority is to be reckoned from the date of confirmation in the Service confirmation must be made available to recruits from both the sources viz promotees and direct recruits
It was further contended that if on satisfactory completion of probation a direct recruit is confirmed or is deemed to be confirmed and a promotee who can be continued in an officiating capacity for any length of time without considering his case for confirmation promotees would be put at a serious disadvantage because for further promotion or what is styled as nomination to Indian Police Service seniority cum merit being the criterian and the basic cadre being the cadre of Deputy Superintendent of Police from which nomination is to be made their case would not come up for consideration as they are not confirmed
They pointed out that in 1971 their names were recommended by Deparmental Committee set up for the purpose but the State Government turned down their names on the only ground that they were not confirmed
It is clear from Rule 8 that both promotees and direct recruits would be on probation for two years and in case of promotees the Government may be special order in each case permit periods of officiating appointments to the Service to count towards the period of probation
Clause b of rule 8 provides that the services of a member recruited by direct appointment may be dispensed with by the Government on his failing to pass the final examination at the end of his period of training or on his being reported on during or at the end of his period of probation as unfit for appointment
There is a proviso at the end of sub rule b which reads as under Provided that the Government may if it deems fit extend the period of probation by not more than one year
 There is some controversy between the parties whether the proviso is to operate as proviso to rule 8a and 8b both or only to rule 8 b
It was contended on behalf of the direct recruits that once a specific period of probation is fixed and a fetter is put on the power of the Government to extend probation only by a specific period at the end of such extended period either the service of the direct recruit is to be dispensed with on the ground that he was unfit for appointment or if he is continued thereafter he must be deemed to have been confirmed and the date next after the day of expiry of his ordinary or 592 extended period of probation would be the date of his confirmation
This Court has consistently held that when a first appointment or promotion is made on probation for a specific period and the employee is allowed to continue in the post after the expiry of the period without any specific order of confirmation he should be deemed to continue in his post as a probationer only in the absence of any communication to the contrary in the original order of appointment or promotion or the Service Rules
In such a case an express order of confirmation is necessary to give the employee a substantive right to the post and from the mere fact that he is allowed to continue in the post after the expiry of the specific period of probation it is not possible to hold that he should be deemed to have been confirmed
This view was taken in Sukhbans Singh vs State of Punjab1 G section Ramaswamy vs The Inspector General of Police Mysore State Bangalore2 and State of U P vs Akbar Ali3
This view was founded up on the relevant rules which permitted extension of the probationary period for an indefinite time
In fact there was no negative rule in these cases prohibiting the Government from extending the probationary period beyond a certain maximum period
However where the rules provide for a fixed period of probation with a power in the Government to extend it up to a specific period and not any unlimited period either by express provision or by necessary implication at the end of such specified period beyond which the Government had no power to extend the probation the probationer if he continues beyond that period should be deemed to have been confirmed in the post
This Court in State of Punjab vs Dharam Singh4 after taking into consideration rule 63 of the Punjab Educational Service Provincialised Cadre Class III Rules 1961 which provided for either dispensing with the services of the person appointed to the post on probation if his work was found to be unsatisfactory or to extend the period of probation for such period as may be deemed fit or revert him to his former post if he was promoted from some lower post provided that the total period of probation including the extensions if any shall not exceed three years held that the Service Rules fixed a certain period of time beyond which the probationary period cannot be extended and if an employee appointed or promoted to a post is allowed to continue in that post after completion of the maximum period of probation without an express order of confirmation he cannot be deemed to continue in that post as a probationer by implication
In such a case the Court held it is permissible to 593 draw an inference that the employee allowed to continue in the post on completion of the maximum period of probation has been confirmed in the post by implication
Rule 8 of the Service Rules prescribes the period of probation of two years and the proviso confers power to extend the period of probation by not beyond one year meaning thereby that in any case the Government would not have the power to extend the period of probation beyond a period of three years
In this situation the ratio in Dharam Singh s case supra would mutatis mutandis apply and it will have to be held that the direct recruit who completed the period of probation of two years and in the absence of an extension of probationary period would be deemed to be confirmed by necessary implication
Respondent 5 to 8 direct recruits have accordingly been confirmed on expiry of the period of probation of two years
Now if seniority is to be reckoned from the date of confirmation and if promotees are not confirmed for years together in some cases to wit respondents 1 and 2 who were promotees of February and January 1961 respectively were not confirmed till they filed the writ petition in 1972 while direct recruits who came much later got confirmed and ipso facto became senior to the promotees if quota rule is only applied as is contended on behalf of the appellants and the State of Punjab at the time of initial recruitment this undesirable result is wholly unavoidable
Mr G L Sanghi learned counsel for the interveners and the promotees contended that the framers of the rule could not have intended to accord such a discriminatory treatment to the promotees in whose favour the quota is as big as 80 of the total strength
Where recruitment to a cadre is from two sources and the Service Rules prescribe quota for recruitment for both sources a question would always arise whether the quota rule would apply at the initial stage of recruitment or also at the stage of confirmation
Ordinarily if quota is prescribed for recruitment to a cadre the quota rule will have to be observed at the recruitment stage
The quota would then be co related to vacancies to be filled in by recruitment but after recruitment is made from two different sources they will have to be integrated into a common cadre and while so doing the question of their inter se seniority would surface
Seniority is ordinarily determined from the date of entry into cadre on the principle of continuous officiation
Confirmation in a post would ordinarily depend upon such circumstances as satisfactory completion of probationary period efficiency in the discharge of duty capacity to discharge functions of the post availability of permanent vacancy etc
Now if seniority is to be determined according to the date of confirmation and the quota rule 594 is not made relatable to confirmation in various posts falling vacant in the cadre it would directly impinge upon the seniority of members of the service
In a slightly different form this question came before this Court in section B Patwardhan  Ors etc
vs State of Maharashtra  Ors 1 in which vires of rule 8iii of 1960 Rules were questioned
Rule 8iii of the 1960 Rules provided that probationers recruited directly to the Bombay Service of Engineers Class II Cadre in any year shall in a bunch be placed senior to promotees confirmed during that year
Striking down this rule as violative of Article 16 this Court held that the rule leaves the valuable right of seniority to depend upon the mere accident of confirmation
The recruitment to Punjab Police Service is from two sources
Recruits from both the sources have to be on probation
Adopting the construction as canvassed for and on behalf of direct recruits that the proviso to rule 8b permitting a maximum period of probation of three years at the end of which the direct recruit automatically be confirmed unless his services are dispensed with simultaneously enjoying seniority from the date of such automatic confirmation without applying quota rule at the time of confirmation would put the promotee to an unintended disadvantage who may be continued in an officiating capacity without confirming him and consequently denying or relegating him down in seniority for years as has happened in the case of respondents 1 and 2
Appellants who were recruited to the Service after respondents 1 and 2 came to be confirmed at the end of two years  period of probation while respondents 1 and 2 were not confirmed after more than 11 years of officiating service and there it not the slightest suggestion that the services of respondents 1 and 2 were not satisfactory and that the confirmation was denied on any such ground thereby directly affecting their place in the seniority list
Such an approach would be wholly unreasonable
Now if the other view is taken that the quota rule would apply both at the time of recruitment and at the time of confirmation rule 10 which provides for seniority according to the date of confirmation would certainly be save from the vice of unreasonableness
Is such a construction possible  One need not stretch the language to bring about the desired result but in this case upon a harmonious reading of rules 3 6 8 and 10 the conclusion is inescapable that quota rule is operative both at the time of initial recruitment and at the time of confirmation
If the rule of seniority were one otherwise than according to date of confirmation it would not have become necessary to 595 apply the quota rule at the stage of confirmation but in this case the quota rule is linked up with the seniority rule and unless the quota rule is strictly observed in practice it will be difficult to hold that the seniority rule is not unreasonable and does not offend Article 16 see section G Jaisinghani s case supra at pp 717 and 718
Quota rule is linked up with seniority rule because not the date of entry in service determines the seniority but the date of confirmation determines seniority and therefore quota rule is inextricably intertwined with the seniority rule and any delinking would render the seniority rule wholly unreasonable
Any other view would lead to the most undesirable result wholly unintended by the framers of the rule
It must be remembered that after recruitment members of the service though drawn from two different sources direct recruits and promotees constitute a single integrated cadre
They discharge identical functions bear similar responsibilities and acquire an equal amount of experience in the respective assignments
In this background in section B Patwardhan s case supra this Court held that if the promotees are treated with an evil eye and an unequal hand in the matter of seniority as was done under rule 8iii the rule would suffer from the vice of unreasonableness and would offend Article 16 and it was actually struck down
An exactly identical situation would follow here if quota rule is applied at the stage of initial recruitment and wholly ignored at the time of confirmation because in that event while direct recruits will get confirmation automatically the promotees would hang out for years as has happened in the case of respondents 1 and 2 and if they are not confirmed they would never get seniority and their chances of being considered for promotion to the higher post would be wholly jeopardised
To avoid this utterly unconsciounable outcome the construction we have put on rule 8 would be in consonance with justice and reason
It may be pointed out that where recruitment is from two sources and the seniority in the cadre is determined according to the date of confirmation to accord utmost fair treatment a rotational system has to be followed while giving confirmation
The quota rule would apply to vacancies and recruitment has to be made keeping in view the vacancies available to the two sources according to the quota
If the quota rule is strictly adhered to there will be no difficulty in giving confirmation keeping in view the quota rule even at the time of confirmation
A roster is introduced while giving confirmation ascertaining every time which post has fallen vacant and the recruit from that source has to be confirmed in the post available to the source
This system would breakdown the moment recruitment from either source in excess of the quota is made
In fact a strict adherence to the quota 596 rule at the time of recruitment would introduce no difficulty in applying the rule at the time of confirmation because vacancies would be available for confirmation to persons belonging to different sources of recruitment
The difficulty arises when recruitment in excess of the quota is made and it is further accentuated when recruits from one source to wit in this case direct recruits get automatic confirmation on completion of the probationary period while the promotees hang out for years together before being confirmed
In Mervyn Coutindo s case supra this Court in terms said that rotational system of fixing seniority meaning thereby confirmation followed by seniority does not offend equality of opportunity in Government service and recruitment not following the fixed quota rule need not be a ground for doing away with rotational system
It was however contended that in A K Subraman  Ors etc
vs Union of India  Ors
1 this Court in terms has held that when recruitment is from two sources and the quota rule is enforced the same will have to be enforced at the time of initial recruitment in officiating capacity and not at the time of confirmation
It was therefore said that it would be contrary to settled law to hold that quota rule will also operate at the time of confirmation
Now the observation of the Court is in the context of Central Engineering Service Class I Recruitment Rules 1954 which came up for interpretation before the Court in that case
The recruitment was from three different sources viz by competitive examination by promotion and by transfer
Rule 4 provided that 75 of the vacancies in the grade of Executive Engineer Class I shall be filled by promotion of Assistant Executive Engineers Class I the rest of the vacancies being filled by promotion andor by transfer in accordance with Parts IV and V of the Rules respectively
The general seniority rule which was held applicable in that case was that seniority should be determined on the basis of length of service in that grade or a service in an equivalent grade irrespective of whether the latter was under Central or Provincial Government in India or Pakistan
It is in the context of these rules the question whether the quota rule should be applied at the stage of initial recruitment or confirmation came up for consideration
Unlike the rule in the present case seniority was not dependent on confirmation but seniority was dependent upon continuous officiation in the cadre
In this background this Court held that the quota has to be enforced at the time of initial recruitment in officiating capacity and not at the time of confirmation
The situation in the case under discussion is materially different
Therefore it cannot be said that ignoring the 597 rule a proposition of universal application has been laid down that whenever there is a quota prescribed for recruitment to a cadre it can only apply at the time of initial recruitment and not at the time of confirmation
Everything will depend upon the whole body of rules and harmonious construction has to be put upon the rules so as to avoid the possibility of a rules becoming unreasonable
This Court while saying in Subraman s case supra that quota rule has to be adhered to and enforced at the time of initial recruitment re affirmed the observation in Mervyn Coutindo s case supra that there is no inherent invalidity in introduction of quota system and to work it out by rule of rotation
When it is said that the confirmation shall follow the quota rule it is in terms being stated that the rotational system should be followed at the time of confirmation so as to make quota rule effective and seniority rule reasonable because all the three are interlinked
Undoubtedly the decision in Subraman s case was in terms affirmed in Patwardhan s case supra but the scheme of rules in Patwardhan s case supra was more or less similar to the one that was examined by this Court in Subraman s case
Mr Sanghi also urged that the language of Rule 8a would unmistakably show that members of Service recruited from either source would be on probation for a period of two years and this would imply that promotees would also be on probation for a period of two years
Approaching the matter from this angle he further urged that proviso to rule 8b which permits extension of probation only by one year without expressly referring to direct recruits would govern both promotees and direct recruits and in that view of the matter promotees would also be deemed to be confirmed on the expiry of period of probation
This contention overlooks the latter Part of rule 8a which provides that in case of promotees the Government may by special order in each case permit periods of officiating appointments to the Service to count towards the period of probation
It appears that both promotees and direct recruits to Service would be on probation
But the latter part of rule 8 a comprehends Inspectors being promoted on officiating basis
Unless there is a temporary addition to the strength of the cadre such officiating appointment by promotion would not make the promotee a member of the service in view of Rule 3
In order to avoid any injustice to such promotees the Government may make an order to treat officiating service to count towards probation
In the absence of such order the officiating service would not count towards probation and such appointment would not make the promotee a member of the service
In that event his case would not be covered 598 by the proviso to rule 8a
Therefore the contention cannot be accepted
The High Court was therefore right in concluding that the quota rule would operate at both the stages
Accordingly both these appeals fail and are dismissed but in the circumstances of the case with no order as to costs
SR Appeals dismissed


Summary:
Under the Punjab Police Service Rules 1959 recruitment to Punjab Police Service Deputy Superintendent of Police is made from two sources namely 80 by promotion and 20 through direct recruitment
Under Rule 10 seniority in the cadre of Deputy Superintendent of Police is reckoned according to the date of confirmation
Consideration for nomination to Indian Police Service is done according to seniority cum merit
Respondents 1 and 2 in CA 290378 who were promotees to the cadre of Deputy Superintendents of Police in February 1961 and January 1961 respectively were not confirmed even though appellants and respondents 5 to 8 who were recruited to the same cadre by direct appointment commencing from May 1961 to May 1965 were confirmed
They therefore filed a Writ Petition praying for a direction to confirm them in the Punjab Police Service adhering to the quota rule at the time of confirmation as well
They alleged that as seniority in the cadre of Deputy Superintendent of Police is reckoned under rule 10 according to date of confirmation failure to confirm in the post available to them in breach of the relevant rules had resulted in the denial of equality of opportunity in public service enshrined in article 16 of the Constitution at the time of consideration of their cases for nomination to the Indian Police Service which is done according to seniority cum merit
Allowing the Writ Petition and directing the State to confirm them the learned single judge held that the quota rule would operate not only at the time of initial recruitment but also at the time of confirmation as he was of the opinion that the quota rule is linked with the seniority rule
Two Letters Patent Appeals one filed by appellant No 1 and another by the State were heard along with another Writ Petition filed by one Ram Rakha urging identical contentions
The Writ Petition was allowed and the appeals were dismissed by a common judgment modifying the direction given by the learned single judge to the extent that the State should consider the case of the Writ petitioners for confirmation afresh according to quota rule and then refix their inter se seniority
Dismissing the appeals by special leave the Court 585  HELD 1
When a first appointment or promotion is made on probation for a specific period and the employee is allowed to continue in the post after the expiry of the period without any specific order of confirmation he should be deemed to continue in his post as a probationer only in the absence of any communication to the contrary in the original order of appointment or promotion or the Service Rules
In such a case an express order of confirmation is necessary to give the employee a substantive right to the post
From the mere fact that he is allowed to continue in the post after the expiry of the specific period of probation he should not be deemed to have been confirmed
This is so when the relevant rules permitted extension of the Probationary period for an indefinite time
592 A C Sukhbans Singh vs State of Punjab   G section Ramaswamy vs The Inspector General of Police Mysore State Bangalore  State of UP vs Akbar Ali  referred to
Where the rules provide for a fixed period of probation with a power in the Government to extend it up to a specific period and not any unlimited period either by express provision or by necessary implication at the end of such specified period beyond which the Government had no power to extend the probation the probationer if he continues beyond that period should be deemed to have been confirmed in the post
592 C E State of Punjab vs Dharam Singh  explained
Rule 8 of the Punjab Service Rules 1959 prescribes a period of probation of two years and the proviso confers power to extend the period of probation by not beyond one year meaning thereby that in any case the Government would not have the power to extend the period of probation beyond a period of three years
593 A B In this situation a the ratio of Dharam Singh s case would mulatis mutandis apply and the direct recruits who completed the period of probation of two years and in the absence of an extension of probationary period would be deemed to be confirmed by necessary implication
593 B C b If seniority is to be reckoned from the date of confirmation and if promotees are not confirmed for years together in some cases while direct recruits who came much later got confirmed and ipso facto became senior to the promotees if quota rule is only applied at the time of initial recruitment this undesirable result is wholly unavoidable
593 C D 4
Where recruitment to a cadre is from two sources and the Service Rules prescribe quota for recruitment for both sources a question would always arise whether the quota rule would apply at the initial stage of recruitment or also at the stage of confirmation
Ordinarily if quota is prescribed for recruitment to a cadre the quota rule will have to be observed at the recruitment stage
The quota would then be co related to vacancies to be filled in by recruitment but after recruitment is made from two different sources they will have to be integrated into a common cadre and while so doing the question of their inter se seniority would surface
593 F G 586 Seniority is ordinarily determined from the date of entry into cadre on the principle of continuous officiation
Confirmation in a post would ordinarily depend upon such circumstances as satisfactory completion of probationary period efficiency in the discharge of duty capacity to discharge functions of the post availability of permanent vacancy etc
Now if seniority is to be determined according to the date of confirmation and the quota rule is not made relatable to confirmation in various posts falling vacant in the cadre it would directly impinge upon the seniority of members of the service
593 G H 594 A section B Patwardhan and Ors
vs State of Maharashtra   797 referred to
A harmonious reading of rules 3 4 6 8 and 10 makes it clear that the quota rule is operative both at the time of initial recruitment and at the time of confirmation
The recruitment to Punjab Police Service is from two sources
Recruits from both the sources have to be on probation
Adopting the construction that the proviso to Rule 8 b permitting a maximum period of probation of three years at the end of which the direct recruit would automatically be confirmed unless his services are dispensed with simultaneously enjoying seniority from the date of such automatic confirmation without applying quota rule at the time of confirmation would put the promotee to an unintended disadvantage who may be continued in an officiating capacity without confirming him and consequently denying or relegating him down in seniority for years as has happened in the case of respondents 1 and 2
Such an approach would be wholly unreasonable more so when there was not the slightest suggestion that their services were not satisfactory and that the confirmation was denied on any such ground thereby directly affecting their places in the seniority list
594 C F H If the other view that the quota rule would apply both at the time of recruitment and at the time of confirmation is adopted rule 10 which provides for seniority according to the date of confirmation would certainly be saved from the vice of unreasonableness
594 G The quota rule is linked up with the seniority rule
Quota rule is linked up with seniority rule because not the date of entry in service determines the seniority but the date of confirmation determines seniority
Quota rule being inextricably intertwined with the seniority rule any delinking would render the seniority rule wholly unreasonable
After recduitment members of the service though drawn from two different sources direct recruits and promotees constitute a single integrated cadre
They discharge identical functions bear similar responsibilities and acquire an equal amount of experience in the respective assignments
If quota rule were to be applied at the stage of initial recruitment and wholly ignored at the time of confirmation the rule would suffer from the vice of unreasonableness and would offend article 16 because in that event while direct recruits would get confirmation automatically the promotees would hang out for years as has happened in the case of respondents 1 and 2 and if they are not confirmed they would never get seniority and their chances of being considered for promotion to the higher post would be wholly jeopardised
595 A B C D E section G Jaisinghani vs Union of India and Ors   717 and 718 section B Patwardhan vs State of Maharashtra   797 followed
587 6
Where recruitment is from two sources and the seniority in the cadre is determined according to the date of confirmation to accord utmost fair treatment a rotational system has to be followed while giving confirmation
The quota rule would apply to vacancies and recruitment has to be made keeping in view the vacancies available to the two sources according to the quota
If the quota rule is strictly adhered to there will be no difficulty in giving confirmation keeping in view the quota rule even at the time of confirmation
A roster is introduced while giving confirmation ascertaining every time which post has fallen vacant and the recruit from that source has to be confirmed in the post available to the source
This system would breakdown the moment recruitment from either source in excess of the quota is made
In fact a strict adherance to the quota rule at the time of recruitment would introduce no difficulty in applying the rule at the time of confirmation because vacancies would be available for confirmation to persons belonging to different sources of recruitment
The difficulty would arise when recuruitment in excess of the quota is made and it would further be accentuated when recruits from one source viz direct recruits get automatic confirmation on completion of the probationary period while the promotees hang out for years together before being confirmed
596 F H 597 A B Mervyn Coutindo and Ors
vs Collector of Customs Bombay and Ors
  A K Subraman and Ors
vs Union of Indian and Ors
 1975 2 SCR 979 explained and distinguished