Dalveer Bhandari, J. - (1.) LEAVE granted in all the Special Leave Petitions.
(2.) SINCE common questions of law arise in all these appeals, therefore, these appeals are being disposed of by a common judgment. The facts of Civil Appeal No. 4949 of 2011 arising out of Special Leave Petition (Civil) No. 5098 of 2007 entitled Rajendra Pratap Singh Yadav and Ors. v. State of U.P. and Ors. are recapitulated for the sake of convenience. The Appellants and Respondent No. 4 - Rakesh Kumar Jolly are direct recruits to the Uttar Pradesh Provincial Police Service. It is stated that the Appellants are 4 to 10 years senior to Respondent No. 4, who was selected and appointed in the year 1994 as Deputy Superintendent of Police in Uttar Pradesh Provincial Police Service. Respondent No. 4 was given benefit of his past service in the Indian Army as a Short Service Commissioned Officer of eight years vide order dated 29.11.2004 issued by the State Government. Since Respondent No. 4, though junior was placed above the Appellants, therefore, the Appellants filed a writ petition before the High Court of judicature at Allahabad.
(3.) ACCORDING to the Appellants, Respondent No. 4 could not have been given the benefit of past service. The benefit of back seniority was given to Respondent No. 4 under the U.P. Nontechnical (Class -II/Group 'B') Services (Appointment of Demobilised Officers) Rules, 1980, as amended in 1990. Demobilised Officer has been defined in Rule 3(b) of the Demobilisation Rules, 1980, which reads as under: 3. Definitions - In these rules unless the context otherwise requires ? (a) .... (b) "Demobilised Officer" means Disabled Defence Service Officer, Emergency Commissioned Officer and the Short Service Commissioned Officer of the Armed Forces of the Union who was commissioned on or after November 1, 1962 but before January 10, 1968 or on or after December 3, 1971 and released at any time thereafter. (c) ....;