HC sets aside government order

The Madras High Court bench here today set aside the revised seniority list prepared by the state's Industries Commissioner and Director of Industries and Commerce, based on a government order of the department of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (E11-1), of 15 June, 2012.
Allowing the petition filed by Z Rahmathulla, an officer in the Industries Department, Justice K K Sasidharan set aside the revised seniority list as a few employees who were appointed long after the appointment of the petitioner, were shown above him.
The petitioner contended that the government order and the consequential revised seniority lists prepared by the state commissioner in 2012 for the posts of Junior Assistant, Assistant and Superintendent as arbitrary, illegal and whimsical.

In the revised list, five persons who were much junior to him had been shown above him, according to the petitioner.
The petitioner's counsel H Lakshmi Shankar said it was not open to the Government to unsettle the seniority settled long back and as such, the impugned Government Order and the related order passed by the second respondent were liable to be set aside.
Government advocate S Bharathi justified the government order and the revised list.

The judge said the documents available very clearly showed that all those 5 persons were placed above the petitioner were junior to him. The officers without any regard to the settled seniority, unsettled it on a fine morning without any basis, the judge said.

In the result, the impugned seniority lists are set aside and the matter is remitted to the Industries Commissioner and Director of Industries and Commerce, the judge said.PTI SSN.
"The Industries Commissioner and Director of Industries and Commerce is directed to consider the matter afresh and restore the seniority of the petitioner, taking into account his date of joining service", the judge said.