State Of Uttaranchal & Anr vs Archana Shukla & Ors

The Supreme Court held that under Rule 7(1) of the Uttaranchal Regularization of Ad Hoc Appointments Rules, 2002, seniority can only be granted from the date of appointment after selection, which in this case was in 2004, not from the initial appointment in 1988. The Court emphasized that the law must prevail over equity, citing Raghunath Rai Bareja & Another vs. Punjab National Bank & Others (2007) 2 SCC 230, and clarified that the respondents are not entitled to seniority benefits for the period prior to their regularization. Consequently, the appeal was allowed, and the High Court's judgment was set aside.