Selection Merit Entities Candidate for Notional Pay Parity and Incremental Benefits from Seniority Date despite Delayed Appointment.

The applicants applied for the post of Constable (Driver) in the 2009 Delhi Police recruitment cycle. Initially, they were not selected due to marks falling below the cutoff

Following a re-evaluation of written test OMR sheets in 2011 due to incorrect answer keys, the applicants were found eligible and issued appointment letters in 2012

Although the respondents fixed their inter-se seniority at par with the 2010 batch on 12.01.2018, they refused to fix their pay notionally from 2010, resulting in the applicants receiving lower pay than their juniors

The applicants sought relief based on the Tribunal’s earlier decision in Vikas v. Delhi Police (OA No. 3318/2018), but their representations were rejected by the respondents via impugned remarks dated 14.05.2025 and 19.08.2025

1. Whether the applicants are entitled to notional pay fixation from the date their batchmates/juniors joined (01.05.2010) despite their actual joining occurring in 2012 due to administrative errors in evaluation.

2. Whether the denial of notional pay fixation, while granting seniority from 2010, constitutes an arbitrary anomaly in violation of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.

The court primarily applied the principle that once notional seniority is granted, the legal fiction of service must be extended to pay fixation to avoid anomalies, as established by the Delhi High Court in Director of Education v. Smt. Krishna Kumari

A delay in appointment due to documentation or evaluation errors should not cause continuous financial loss to the employee as held in Vikas v. Delhi Police (OA No. 3318/2018).

FR 17(1), regarding the commencement of pay from the date of assuming duties, but interpreted it in light of judicial exceptions for notional benefits

The court reasoned that the delay in the applicants' appointments was not due to any fault of their own, but rather the respondents' error in evaluating OMR sheets

The Tribunal rejected the respondents' reliance on FR 17(1), observing that while actual back wages may be restricted, notional fixation is essential to maintain parity with batchmates

The court emphasized that the facts were squarely covered by the Vikas case and the High Court's ruling in Krishna Kumari, necessitating a consistent judicial approach

The respondents were directed to re-fix the applicants’ pay and allowances on a notional basis from 01.05.2010, with actual monetary benefits and arrears payable only from the date of their actual joining. The directions must be complied with within 90 days.