Seniority is not a Fundamental Right, says CAT ruling

“As per the settled law, seniority is not a fundamental right of a public employee. It is only a civil right. There cannot be any change in this contrary to the principles of natural justice,” the tribunal bench, comprising Members Shanker Raju and Veena Chhotray, said.

The tribunal ruling came while refusing to set aside an order by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) revising the seniority list of its junior stenographers.

It dismissed the petition of junior stenographers seeking to quash the order of the civic agency which had revised their 1988 seniority list.

Seniority list

The tribunal noted that the seniority list of junior stenographers was revised in 2000 by the MCD after duly considering the objections invited by it after circulating a provisional seniority list.

“The revision of the seniority list of 2000 had been preceded by the circulation of a provisional seniority list and inviting the objections. Even though the applicants still insist that their objections had not been considered, this is not proved,” it said.

The tribunal rejected the plea of violation of natural justice of petitioners on the ground that no proof in the form of relevant document was produced in support of it.

The petitioners, M S Thakur and others, were aggrieved at the changes in the revised seniority list of 2000 and approached the tribunal for relief.