Ad-hoc service following prescribed recruitment rules counts toward seniority for granting time-scale pay benefits.

The petitioner was appointed as an Insurance Medical Officer on an ad-hoc basis on 02.03.1981 following a prescribed selection process via advertisement.

His services were subsequently regularized under the M.P. Regularization of Ad-hoc Appointment Rules, 1986.

Upon completing 30 years of service, the petitioner sought the "third time scale of pay."

The respondents rejected his claim via an order dated 21.01.2019, primarily relying on a restrictive 2009 circular that excluded ad-hoc service periods from such calculations.

The petitioner challenged this rejection, citing a subsequent modified clarification dated 05.09.2020.

1. Whether the period of ad-hoc service, rendered prior to regularization, should be counted for the purpose of granting the third time pay-scale.

2. Whether the petitioner is entitled to arrears and interest for the delayed grant of the pay-scale.

Modified clarificatory circular dated 05.09.2020 (Annexure P-15), which stipulates that if an employee is appointed following the procedure prescribed under Recruitment Rules without a break in service, the ad-hoc period must be counted for the time scale of pay.

Precedent set by a Coordinate Bench in Dr. V.D. Mishra v. State of M.P. and others (W.P. No. 5743/2016), which affirmed the inclusion of ad-hoc service for financial benefits under similar conditions.

The court observed that the petitioner’s initial appointment on 02.03.1981 was not arbitrary but resulted from a formal selection process pursuant to an advertisement.

The respondents failed to provide any legal justification as to why the modified clarification of 05.09.2020—which specifically allows for the inclusion of ad-hoc service when the original appointment followed recruitment rules—should not apply to the petitioner.

Since the petitioner remained in continuous service until regularization, the court reasoned that the 2009 circular was superseded by the 2020 clarification.

The petitioner "is entitled to the benefit of the third time scale of pay by counting the entire period of service," starting from his initial ad-hoc appointment date.

The Court held that the petitioner is entitled to the third time scale of pay effective from his initial appointment date of 02.03.1981.

The respondents were directed to revise the PPO and GPO, pay consequential arrears within three months with 6% interest per annum, and cautioned that failure to comply within the stipulated time would result in an increased interest rate of 12% per annum.