Archive · 7 Jan 2026
Manipur High Court Quashes Seniority List for Prosecutors
The Manipur High Court recently decided that the government's list showing the order of seniority for assistant public prosecutors (APPs) was not fair.
Two APPs who were appointed in 2005 were placed below others who started later.
The court said this was not right because there are no clear rules for deciding seniority in such cases.
The court had earlier told the government to make a new list, but when the new list was published, the same issue persisted.
The court then decided that the government's way of deciding seniority was arbitrary and not supported by any rules.
The Manipur High Court set aside the final seniority list for assistant public prosecutors (APPs) due to its arbitrary and unreasonable nature.
The court noted that the government's ranking system was not supported by any rules or instructions from the competent authority.
Two APPs appointed in 2005 were placed below colleagues who started later, leading them to challenge the 2022 notification.
The court directed the government to decide the seniority of contract employees appointed on different dates but regularised on the same day.
The court's decision was based on the principle that the initial date of appointment should be considered for determining seniority in the absence of specific rules.
- Who
- Manipur High Court, Assistant Public Prosecutors (APPs)
- What
- Setting aside the final seniority list for APPs
- When
- Recent decision, specific dates mentioned in the articles
- Where
- Manipur, India
- Why
- The government's ranking system was deemed arbitrary and unreasonable
- Petitioners' Initial Appointment
- December 2005
- Regularisation of Appointments
- 2016
- Seniority List Issued
- 2021
- High Court's Decision
- 2022
- Final Seniority List Published
- July 2022
- Court's Ruling
- Arbitrary and unreasonable