Training counts – Supreme Court rules direct recruits’ seniority starts from day one, not the end of probation

In a significant ruling clarifying the determination of service seniority, the Supreme Court of India, in M. Thanigivelu and Ors. v. Tamil Nadu Electricity Board and Ors. (Civil Appeal no. 862 OF 2026 arising out of S.L.P. (C) No.8374 of 2025) on 11 March 2026, has held that the seniority of directly recruited assistant engineers must be reckoned from the date of their initial appointment and joining for training, rather than the date they commence probation. Bench of Hon’ble Justices Rajesh Bindal and Vijay Bishnoi set aside the Madras High Court’s division bench judgment, terming its interpretation of service regulations as ‘totally erroneous.’

The controversy originated from the recruitment of assistant engineers in the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (‘TNEB’) between 2000 and 2002. Direct recruits were selected in late 2000 and early 2001, while internal candidates were promoted through selection in 2002. The core of the dispute lay in the inter se seniority between these two groups. Internal selectees argued that direct recruits only entered the cadre after completing their mandatory training and starting their formal probation. They sought to push the seniority of direct recruits to 2002, placing them in the same block as the internal promotees. While a single judge rejected this, the division bench of the High Court had ruled in favour of the internal candidates, prompting the direct recruits to move the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court scrutinized the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (Service Regulations) and found that the High Court had misapplied the law. The court observed that calculating seniority from the completion of probation would lead to immense uncertainty. Since different candidates join on different dates and complete probation at different times, using that as a marker would lead to a fragmented and inconsistent seniority list. The bench clarified that the seniority of a direct recruit must be counted from the first date of joining, after which they are sent for training. The specific duration or timing of the training is ‘irrelevant’ to the determination of their standing in the cadre.

This ruling reinforces the principle that seniority is a vested right that typically commences from the date of entry into service, provided the appointment is regular. By including the training period within the ‘qualifying service’ for seniority, the Supreme Court has protected direct recruits from being pushed down the ladder due to administrative delays or the structured phases of their induction. It ensures a stable and predictable seniority framework, preventing internal administrative timelines from overriding the merit-determined hierarchy of recruits.