STATE OF PUNJAB & ORS. vs LABHU RAM & ORS.

The Supreme Court upheld the Punjab and Haryana High Court's decision that the petitioners, who were teachers in the junior vernacular cadre, were entitled to the benefits of their substantive posts despite having worked temporarily in the senior vernacular cadre. The Court emphasized that the integration of the two cadres under the Punjab Educational Service (Provincialised Cadre) Class III Service Rules, 1961, did not confer automatic confirmation in the senior cadre. The Court ruled that the petitioners could not be deemed probationers in the senior cadre, thus affirming their rights in the junior cadre.