### Contractual Service Counts Toward Qualifying Pension Service but Not for Retrospective Seniority Fixation

The Petitioners/Applicants were medical doctors initially engaged by the Govt. of NCT of Delhi (GNCTD) on a contractual basis against sanctioned posts between 1996 and 2006

Prior to 2009, there was no independent Delhi Health Service (DHS) cadre

In 2009, the Delhi Health Services (Allopathy) Rules were notified, providing for the "Initial Constitution" of the service

Under Rule 6(2), contractual doctors appointed on or before 18.12.2006 were inducted into the regular DHS cadre at the "entry level" following a suitability assessment by the UPSC in 2012

The GNCTD fixed 23.12.2009 (the date the Rules were notified) as the date of regular induction for seniority purposes

The doctors challenged this before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), seeking seniority from their initial dates of contractual appointment and the counting of such service for pensionary benefits

The CAT rejected the seniority claims but passed varying orders regarding pension

1. Whether the period of contractual service rendered prior to regular induction under the 2009 DHS Rules is liable to be counted for the purpose of reckoning seniority.

2. Whether such contractual service rendered against sanctioned posts must be reckoned as "qualifying service" for pension under the applicable service rules.

The court primarily applied the Delhi Health Services (Allopathy) Rules, 2009, specifically Rule 6(2) regarding the "Initial Constitution" through deeming fiction

Rule 9(4) which explicitly prohibits counting contractual increments for length of service or seniority

Rule 14(2)(c) which mandates the New Pension Scheme for Rule 6(2) inductees

Regarding pension, the court applied Rules 13 and 17 of the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972, which allow temporary or contractual service to count as "qualifying service" if followed by substantive appointment without interruption