THE SIKKIM STATE SERVICES (REGULATION OF SENIORITY) RULES,   1980.

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THE SIKKIM STATE SERVICES (REGULATION OF SENIORITY) RULES, 1980

[Establishment Department Notification No. 5(143)324/GeniEst dated 20^th March 1980 published in Sikkim Government (Extraordinary) Gazette No.22 dated 25th March, 1980.

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In exercise of the powers conferred by the proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution, the Governor is hereby pleased to make the following rules, namely,-

1.         Short title and commencement.-

(a) These rules may be called the Sikkim State Services (Regulation of Seniority) Rules, 1980.

(b) These rules shall come into force with effect from the dates of constitution of respective Services enumerated in Rule 2.

2.         Application.- These rules shall apply to persons appointed to the following Services,-

(a) State Civil Service;

(b) State Police Service;

(c) State Forest Service.

[Editorial note.- These Rules apply to the members of the following State Services also which were constituted after these Rules were framed:-

(1) Sikkim State Agriculture Service,

(2) Sikkim State Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Services,

(3) Sikkim State Engineering (Civil, Electrical & Mechanical) Service,

(4) Sikkim State Mines & Geology Service,

(5) Sikkim State Statistical Service,

(6) Sikkim State Education Service.

3.         Definitions.- In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) “Commission” means the Sikkim Public Service Commission;

(b) “Government” meant the Government of Sikkim;

(c) Governor” means the Governor of Sikkim;

(d) “Member of Service” means a member of any of the three Services enumerated in Rule 2 above;

(e) “Officer” means a member of the Service;

(f) “Service” means any of the Services detailed in rule 2;

(g) “State” means the State of Sikkim.

4.         Determination of seniority.- The seniority of the members of the Service shall be determined separately in respect of each Service in the manner specified below,-

(a) Persons appointed at the Initial Constitution of the Service shall rank senior to persons appointed thereafter.

(b) The seniority inter-se of the persons appointed at the Initial Constitution shall be arranged in the following manner,-

       (i)  Persons holding posts of Secretaries/Heads of Departments shall be ranked senior to all others, their inter-se seniority being determined by the date of their appointments as Secretary/Head of Department.

                  (ii) The relative seniority inter-se of the remaining persons shall be determined on the basis of their length of service in the Gazetted Grade.

¹[Provided that officers promoted/appointed to higher Gazetted Grades on or before the dates of the constitution of the Services shall rank senior irrespective of their dates of appointment to the Gazetted Grade.]

Provided further that if two persons including Secretaries/Heads of Departments have the same date of seniority, the person who was appointed earlier to a Gazetted post shall rank senior; and if the date of appointment to Gazetted post is also the same, the person older in age shall rank senior.

(c) The seniority of members of the Service who are recruited on the results of competitive examination in any year shall be ranked inter- se in the order of merit in which their names appear in the result of that competitive examination; those recruited on the basis of the earlier examination shall rank senior to those recruited on the basis of later examination:

Provided that if a person appointed to the Service fails to qualify himself for substantive appointment within the prescribed period of probation, the Governor shall determine whether the date of his appointment for the purpose of this Rule shall be postponed by period not exceeding the period by which his probation is extended.

(d) The relative seniority inter-se of persons recruited by selection shall be determined on the basis of the order in which their names are arranged in the selection list prepared in consultation with the Commission:

Provided that where persons promoted initially on a temporary basis are subsequently appointed to the Service on a substantive basis in an order different from the order of merit indicated at the time of their temporary promotion, seniority shall follow the order of subsequent appointment and not the original order of merit.

(e) The relative seniority of direct recruits and promotees shall be determined according to the rotation of vacancies between direct recruits and promotees and shall be determined by the dates of their substantive appointment to the Service.

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¹[ ] Deemed to have been substituted on and from the date the Sikkim State Services  (Regulation of Seniority) Rules, 1980 came into force, vide Sikkim State Services (Regulation of Seniority) Amendment Rules, 1982 -Notification No.86/Gen/Est dated 5.3.1982 published in Sikkim Government Extraordinary Gazette No.91 dated 7.8.1982.

(f)   The seniority of persons who are appointed to the Service by a method other than by selection or by examination shall be determined ad-hoc by the State Government by a special order.

5.         Power to relax.- Where the Governor is of the opinion that it is necessary or expedient so to do, he may, by order, for reasons to be recorded in writing and in consultation with the Commission, relax any of the provisions of these rules with respect to any class or category of persons or posts.

T.S.GYALTSHEN

CHIEF SECRETRY GOVERNMENT OF SIKKIM

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Government of Sikkim’s instruction.  

Subject:           Relative Seniority of Direct Recruits and Promotees.

The Governor of Sikkim has been pleased to lay down the rules

relating to determination of seniority of persons appointed to Services and posts under the Government in the Recruitment Rules. The Sikkim State Services (Regulation of Seniority) Rules, 1980, as amended up to date, provides for maintaining a roster based on reservation for direct recruitment and promotion and similar provisions are provided in other Recruitment Rules also. In view of this, the following instructions are issued on the

question of determination of relative seniority between direct recruits and promotees, amongst promotees and amongst direct recruits:-

1.         The relative seniority of all direct recruits is determined by the order of merit in which they are selected for such appointment on the recommendation of the Sikkim Public Service Commission or Departmental Promotion Committee, persons appointed as a result of an earlier selection being senior to those appointed as a result of a subsequent selection.

2.         Where promotion are made on the basis of selection by a D.P .C., the seniority of such promotees shall be in the order in which they are recommended for such promotion by the Committee. Where promotions are made on the bass of seniority subject to the rejection of the unfit, the seniority of persons considered fit for promotion at the same time shall be the same as the relative seniority in the lower grade from which they are promoted. Where, however, a person is considered as unfit for promotion and is superseded by a junior, such person shall not, if he/she is subsequently found suitable and promoted, take seniority in the higher grade over the junior person who had superseded him/her.

3.         Seniority of a person appointed to a regular post according to rule would be determined by order of merit indicated at the time of initial appointment and not according to the date of his /her confirmation.

4.         The relative seniority of direct recruits and of promotees shall be determined according to the rotation of vacancies between direct recruits and promotees, which shall be based on the quota of vacancies reserved for direct recruitment and promotion, respectively, in the Recruitment Rules.

5.         If adequate number of direct recruits does not become available in any particular year, rotation of quotas for the purpose of determining seniority would take place only to the extent of the available direct recruits and promotees.

6.         In other words, to the extend direct recruits are not available, the promotees will be bunched together at the bottom of the seniority list below the last position up to which it is possible to determine seniority on the basis of rotation of quotas with reference to the actual number of direct recruits who become available. The unfilled direct recruitment quota vacancies would, however, be carried forward and added to the corresponding direct recruitment vacancies of the next year (and to subsequent years where necessary) for taking action for direct recruitment for the total number according to the usual practice. Thereafter in that year, while seniority will be determined between direct recruits and promotees, to the extent of the number of vacancies for direct recruits and promotees as determined according to the quota for that year, the additional direct recruits selected against the carried forward vacancies of the previous year would be placed en-block below the last promotees (or direct recruit, as the case may be), in

the seniority list based on the rotation of vacancies for that year. The same principle holds good for determining seniority in the event of carry forward, if any, of direct recruitment or promotion quota vacancies (as the case may be) in the subsequent year.

ILLUSTRATION.

Where the recruitment rules provide 50% by promotion and 50%  by direct recruitment, respectively, and assuming there are ten vacancies in the grade arising in each of the years of 200 I and 2002 and that two vacancies intended for direct recruitment remains unfilled during 200 I and they could be filled during 2002, the seniority position of the promotees and direct recruits of these two years will be as follows:-

7.         For determination of the number of vacancies to be filled during a

year under each method of recruitment prescribed, a Vacancy- Register

giving a running account of the vacancies arising and being filled from year

to year may be maintained in the proforma enclosed.

VACANCY REGISTER

Note 1.- The methods of recruitment mentioned above are only illustrative,

those prescribed in the relevant recruitment rules will be reflected in this

Register.

Note 1.- In the cadres in which the yearly vacancies are sufficient in number

to be amenable for division as per the prescribed quotas it is considered that

maintenance of this Register alone will be adequate. In smaller cadres,

however, where the number of vacancies arising is somewhat occasional

and one or two in a year, the Appointing Authority may have to maintain

the Recruitment Roster as at present to be clear about the method under

which a particular vacancy has to be filled.

[Department of Personnel Office Memorandum No. E(11)Elect/4011/ Gen/DOP dated 19.10.100/.]