IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) WEDNESDAY, THE TWENTY SEVENTH DAY OF FEBRUARY TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE RAMESH RANGANATHAN WRIT PETITION NO : 33747 of 1998 Between: M.Sivaramayya, S/o M.S.S.P.Sarma, S.B.H.Staff Traninng Centre, 150 West Marredpalli, Sec'bad. ..... PETITIONER AND 1 The State Bank of Hyderabad, Rep by its Managing Director, Head Office, Hyderabad 2 The Chief General Manager, State Bank of Hyderabad, Head Office, Hyderabad. 3 D.Virinchi, Middle Management Grade Sclae-III, State Bank of Hyderabad, Head Office, Hyderabad. .....RESPONDENT(S) Petition under Article 226 of the constitution of India praying that in the circumstances stated in the Affidavit filed herein the High Court may be pleased to issue a Writ order or direction particularly one in the nature of Writ of Mandamus declaring the proceedings CEM-743 Dt.30-6-98 of the 1st respondent is arbitrary, illegal, malafide and violation of Art.14 and 16 of the Constiution of india and quash or set aside the same and to pass such other order or orders which are deemed fit and proper in the circumstances of the case. Counsel for the Petitioner:MR.A.RAJENDRA BABU Counsel for the Respondents: MR.G.VIDYASAGAR The Court made the following : ORDER: The petitioner questions the proceedings dated 30.06.1998 whereby the Executive Committee of the respondent Bank resolved to upgrade the post of Liaison Officer from MMGS-III to SMGS-IV Cadre with effect from 01.12.1998. The reason given for such upgradation is that the Liaison Officer is required to Liaison with Government authorities and that this function was one among the key responsibility areas for the Chief Manager, Liaison. The Executive Committee had earlier, in its meeting held on 16.03.1993, approved conversion of the post of Liaison Officer to that of a Specialist Cadre to be placed under the administrative control of the Office Manager. The Liaison Officer’s post, which was converted into a Specialist Cadre, prescribed certain functions including supervision over and maintenance of motor cars including their repairs, allocation of duties to the drivers and supervision over them, reception of and looking after V.I.Ps, booking of tickets and transport arrangements for Head Office Officials and V.I.Ps, arranging lunches/dinners in various meetings etc. The Memorandum of the Executive Committee also records certain parameters for determining the effectiveness of the role of a Liaison Officer. The criteria for considering a candidate for promotion in a Specialist Cadre from Scale-II to Scale-III and from Scale-III to Scale-IV is that, if the vacancy is one, promotion may be given automatically on completion of the required number of years in service stipulated in the promotion policy of specialist cadres, subject to being found suitable. 2. As is evident from the counter affidavit filed by the respondent Bank, the post of Liaison Officer was converted into a Specialist Cadre with the approval of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors in the year 1993 and, since the 3rd respondent had the requisite experience by virtue of his working in the Laison Department and he had given his consent for conversion to the Specialist cadre by way of an irrevocable undertaking to the effect that he could be transferred to any of Bank’s offices, even after conversion to the Specialist Cadre, the said post was converted into a Specialist Cadre post. It is stated that the conversion of the 3rd respondent to a Specialist Cadre was approved by the competent authority. 3. It is necessary to note that the petitioner has not challenged the conversion of the 3rd respondent into a Specialist Cadre in the year 1993. His grievance is that the 3rd respondent could not have been upgraded from MMGS-III post, which he was hitherto holding, to that of SMGS-IV and that promotion from Scale-III to Scale-IV must be by a duly constituted Selection Committee wherein all eligible candidates are required to be considered. It is not in dispute that the petitioner belongs to the general cadre. It is also not in dispute that general cadre Officers, unless and until they are converted into a Specialist Cadre, are not entitled to be considered for promotion to posts in the Specialist Cadre and that eligible candidates must be found only from amongst those in the Specialist Cadre itself. It is also not in dispute that the 3rd respondent was the only candidate available as a Specialist Liaison Officer in MMGS-III. Even if the contention of Sri A.Rajendra Babu, the learned counsel for the petitioner, is accepted and it is held that, while the post of Liaison Officer could have been upgraded from Scale-III to Scale-IV, the 3rd respondent could not have been automatically upgraded and that he should have undergone a process of selection for promotion to the post of Scale-IV, the consequence thereof may have necessitated further examination if the petitioner was eligible to be considered for promotion to the said post. Insofar as the petitioner is concerned, it matters little whether the 3rd respondent was upgraded from Scale-III to Scale-IV in a Specialist Cadre or a Selection Committee is constituted to consider the case of the 3rd respondent for promotion to the post of a Liaison Officer in Scale-IV, since the petitioner, admittedly, was not eligible for consideration for appointment to a Specialist Cadre post. In such view of the matter, it is wholly unnecessary for this Court to examine whether the 3rd respondent could have been automatically upgraded as a Liaison Officer in SMGS-IV or he should have been made to go through a selection process for being promoted to the Scale-IV posts, since the petitioner, in either event, is not eligible to be considered for appointment to the Scale-IV post of Liaison Officer. 4. The writ petition fails and is, accordingly, dismissed. No costs. _______________________ (RAMESH RANGANATHAN,J) 26th February, 2008 v v To 1.2CCs to 2.2CD copies