Cipher Operators: RBE No.98/1986 – Principles Determining Seniority

No.E(NG)I-85/SR6/19, dated 05.06.1986

Sub: Cipher Operators – Principles for determination of seniority.

1.     Reference Board’s letter No.E(NG)64/PM1-101, dated 23.04.1965 on the above subject, wherein it was decided that Railway employees who qualify in the Joint Cipher Bureau examination will be maintained in a list according to the order of merit assigned by the Bureau in the said examination and they will be considered, for appointment as regular Cipher Operator/ Asstts. strictly in the order of their merit. A question has arisen as to how the inter-se seniority of staff who qualify in the examination conducted by Joint Cipher Bureau in different batches should be assigned, particularly in cases where a candidate in the examination conducted in later batches secures higher marks than those secured by staff who qualified in earlier batches.

2.     The matter has been considered. Board desire to clarify that consistent with the extant rules of assigning seniority, while the inter-se seniority of staff who qualify in the J.C.B. exam in the same batch will continue to be regulated by the merit position assigned to them by the Bureau, staff who qualify in an earlier batch will rank enbloc senior to those selected in later batches.

3.     However, if some staff of a railway from amongst those available at the beginning of a particular Basic Course (as and when advised by Railway Board) have to attend the J.C.B. Course in later batch(es) due to limitation of seats such staff should be deemed to have done the training in one batch for purpose of fixing seniority on the basis of merit position assigned by the J.C.B. This, however, would not apply to those candidates who do not attend the course due to domestic/ personal reasons i.e. of their own volition.

4.     Cases decided otherwise so far need not be re-opened.

Download Railway Board Circular RBE No.98/1986 

Forward reference ⇒ RBE No.