STATE OF HARYANA vs O.P. GUPTA

The Supreme Court addressed the issue of entitlement to arrears of salary for respondents who were promoted under the Haryana Service Engineers Class II Public Works Department (Irrigation Branch) Rules, 1970, with a deemed date of promotion set as January 1, 1983. The Court held that while the respondents were entitled to promotions, they could not claim arrears for the period they did not work, specifically from January 1, 1983, to November 30, 1992, as they had not been in service during that time. The Court upheld the High Court's decision regarding the preparation of the seniority list but clarified the limitations on salary arrears claims.