Contractual service counts towards qualifying service for pension but not for determining inter se seniority.

The Delhi Health Services (DHS) was constituted in 2009 via the DHS Rules, 2009

Prior to this, the GNCTD engaged doctors on a contractual basis against sanctioned posts

Following the notification of the Rules on 23.12.2009, these contractual doctors underwent a suitability assessment by the UPSC under Rule 6(2) and were inducted into the regular cadre w.e.f. 23.12.2009

The doctors (Applicants/Petitioners) challenged the fixation of this date, claiming their seniority and qualifying service for pension should be reckoned from their initial dates of contractual engagement (ranging from 1996 to 2006)

The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) in various orders rejected the seniority claims but granted limited relief for counting contractual service toward pension in some cases

Whether the period of contractual service rendered prior to regular appointment is liable to be counted for the purpose of seniority under the 2009 DHS Rules?

Whether such contractual service must be reckoned as qualifying service for pension under the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972?

The Court applied Rule 6(2) and Rule 9(4) of the Delhi Health Services (Allopathy) Rules, 2009, which stipulate that contractual appointees are deemed members of the service at the "entry level" upon suitability assessment

Rule 9(4) specifically prohibits counting contractual service periods for determining length of service or seniority for promotion

Regarding pension, the Court relied on Rule 13 and Rule 17 of the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972, which allow temporary or contractual service to count toward qualifying service if followed by substantive appointment without interruption

It further applied the precedents of *State of H.P. v. Sheela Devi* [2023 SCC OnLine SC 1272] and *S.D. Jayaprakash v. Union of India* [2025 SCC OnLine SC 973], establishing that continuous pre-regularization service against sanctioned posts should be considered for pensionary benefits

The Court reasoned that seniority is a statutory right governed strictly by the 2009 DHS Rules.

Under Rule 6(2), the "deeming fiction" of appointment only begins at the stage of "initial constitution" (23.12.2009), and there is no provision for retrospective seniority

Conversely, the Court found that pension is a measure of social security and not a bounty

While Rule 14(2)(c) of the DHS Rules mandates the New Pension Scheme for these doctors, the CCS (Pension) Rules (applicable mutatis mutandis via Rule 14(1)) provide a mechanism under Rules 13 and 17 to count prior continuous contractual service toward "qualifying service"

The Court emphasized that while such service counts for pension eligibility and quantum, Rule 9(4) of the DHS Rules acts as an express embargo against using that same period for seniority or promotional increments

Contractual service rendered against sanctioned posts, if continuous and followed by induction, must be counted toward "qualifying service" for pension strictly as per the CCS (Pension) Rules

The Court dismissed the GNCTD’s challenge to the pension relief and dismissed the Petitioners' claims for retrospective seniority

Specific directions were issued to re-compute qualifying service within twelve weeks without altering inter-se seniority

In W.P.(C) 4929/2019, the period of break due to valid termination was excluded