#notional benefits

Rajasthan High Court rules that notional benefits, once granted to a government employee based on inter se merit, cannot be unilaterally withdrawn without misrepresentation or fraud. The judgment reinforces that seniority and consequential benefits, once accorded, are vested rights protected under settled precedents like Om Prakash, Hemlata Shrimali, and Suman Bai.

Candidates appointed after an unlawful delay caused by the state’s failure to appoint higher-merit candidates are entitled to notional seniority and pay fixation from the date their lower-merit counterparts were appointed. This upholds natural justice and prevents penalizing applicants for administrative failures beyond their control, setting a critical precedent for teacher and public service appointments across Rajasthan.

Madras High Court rules that contractual employees with over ten years of continuous service are entitled to notional regularisation for terminal benefits like gratuity and seniority, but not monetary arrears. The judgment reinforces substantive equality under Article 14, impacting public employment policies and service law jurisprudence.