Legal Question in Administrative Law in India

We are govt. employees. our service rules are formed by DOPT. In our department seniority of promotee and direct employee is based on rotation of quotas principle. Till 7.2.1986, seniority rules were such that direct recruit employees were getting antedated seniority. this was creating unrest and courts including supreme court held that seniority cannot be given from a back date. to curb this practice one rule was framed by the government to stop the practice of giving seniority from back date in the year 1986. Thereafter, one of the officers of the rule making authroity, i.e. DOPT, interpretated the new rule introuduced in 1986 in such a way to suggest that even with the new rule of 1986 seniority is to be given from a back date. even though such officer was not authroized supposed to do so. documents obtained under the RTI Act suggest that intention of the govt. was to stop the practice of giving antedated seniority. recently in one of its decision the supreme court has held that seniorty is to be given from the date when the advertisment appeared in the newspapaer. meaning thereby seniority is to be given since when the candidate was not even under the process of recruitment. Documents obtained RTI states that DOPT were liberally defining the provisions of the rule of 1986. What could be our course of action when the officer of DOPT i.e. rule making authroity has restored the practice of giving antedated seniority against the very intention of the Government to stop the practice of giving antedated seniority. Such an ultra vires interpretation of the new rule of 1986 makes the entire law bad. please suggest remedy.

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