Santosh Kumar vs State Of Andhra Pradesh & Ors

The Supreme Court held that the Andhra Pradesh Government had the authority to relax recruitment rules under Rule 47 of the A.P. State & Subordinate Service Rules, 1962, with retrospective effect. However, it established that the services of those appointed temporarily without following proper procedures could not be counted as officiating service for seniority purposes. The Court ultimately upheld the Tribunal's decision that the initial appointments of the respondents were invalid for seniority calculations, thereby reversing the High Court's ruling that favored the respondents.