IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) MONDAY, THE TWENTY FIRST DAY OF JULY TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE L.NARASIMHA REDDY WRIT PETITION NO : 10635 of 2007 Between: 1 G.Krishnaiah S/o Chenchaiah O/o ERO Kovur,VIllage & Mandal, Nellroe District. 2 Md. Humayun S/o Rasool UDC O/o Sub-ERO Butchireddypalem Village & Mandal, Nellore District. 3 G. Gurrappa S/o Venkat Subbanna UDC O/o Sub-ERO Butchireddypalem Village & Mandal, Nellore District. 4 V.Mohan Rao S/o Veerapa Naidu UDC O/o Divisional Engineer(Transformers), MRT, Nellore, Nellore District. 5 T. Srinivasulu S/o Venkata narayana Atmakur, Village, & mandal, Nellor eDistrict. 6 G. Srinivasa Rao S/o Chalapathi UDC Electricity Revenue Officer, Atmakur, Village, & mandal, nellore district. 7 V. Karunakar Reddy S/o narsa Reddy O/o Sub-Division/APSPDCL., Atmakur Village & Mandal, Nellore District. 8 D. Janardhana Reddy S/o Chinna Penchala Reddy UDC Electricity Revenue Officer, Atmakur, Village, & mandal, nellore district. 9 Y. Balaramaiah S/o Subbaiah UDC O/o Revenue Section Central Office, Nellore, Nellore District. 10 S. Prasad rao S/o Venkaiah O/o ERO, Kovur, Village & mandal, Nellore District. ..... PETITIONERS AND 1 AP TRANSCO., Vidyuth Soudha repbyits Chairman and Managing Director, Khairatabad,hdyerbad. 2 the A.P.Southern Power Distribution CompanyLtd., repby Chairman& managing director, Tirupathi, Chittoor District. 3 The Chief Generalmanager(Expenditure), A.P.SouthrnPower Distribution Corporation Ltd., Tirupathi, Chittoor District. 4 The Superintendenting Engineer (Operations), southern Power Distribution Co. Ltd., Operation circle,Nellore, Nellore District 5 The Assistnat Accounts Officer, Electricity, Revenue Office, Atmakurn NelloreDistrict 6 The Asst. Accounts Officer, Electricity Revenue Officer, Nellore Nellore District. 7 The Assistant Accounts officer (Expn)., Central Office Nellore, Nellore District. 8 The Divisional Engineer,A.P. SouthernPower Distribution Company Ltd., Nellore, Nellore District. .....RESPONDENTS Petition under Article 226 of the constitution of India praying that in the circumstances stated in the Affidavit filed herein the High Court will be pleased to issue an appropriate Writ, order or direction particularly one in the nature of Writ of Mandamus declare that the 3rd respondent has no power to stay that the pay of the petitioners herein have been wrongly fixed while working in REXCO after absorption in the AP Southern Power Distribution Corporation Ltd., and further directing the respective Asst. Accounts Officers vide 3rd Respondent Memo No. COM/Expr./SPDCL/TPT/GM/1-A/JAO-1, D. No. 707/06, dt 22-11-2006 to recover the same as arbitrary, unreasonable and without jurisdiction and set a side the orders of the 3rdrespondnet dated 22-11-2006 including the consequential recovery orders passed in respect of1stpetitioner in Memo No. AAo/ERO/KVR/JAO/ORS/D.No. 38, dated 10-1-2007, in respect of2nd petitioner in Memo No. AAO/ERO/KVR/JAO/PRS/D. No. 38, dated 10/1/2007 3 in respect of 3rd petitioner in Memo No. AAO ERP/KVR/JAO/PRS/D. No. 38 dated 10-1-2007 (4) in respect of4th petitioner in Memo No DE/PRS/NLR/Admn./C2/D.No. 17/07 dated 9-1-2007(%) in respect of 5th petitioner in Memo No. AAO/ERO/ATKR/PRS/U1/D.No. 852/06 dated 27-12-2006 (6) in respect of5th petitioner in Memo No. AAO/ERO/ATKR/PRS/V1/D.No. 852/06, dated 3rd 27-12-2006 (7) in respect of 7th petitioner in Memo No. DE/O/AKV/U1/D No. 1455/06 dated 27-12-2006 (8) in respect of 8th petitioner in Memo No. AAO/ERO/ATKR/PRS/U/D No. 852/06, dated 27-12-2006 (9) in respect of 9th Petitioner in Memo No SC/O/NLR/PRS/JAO/UD No. 1106/06 dated 2-11-20096 and (10) in respect of 10th petitioner in Memo No. AAO/ERO/KVR/Jao/PRS/D/ No. 38 dated 10-1-2007 and to pass such other and further orders as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the circumstances of the case. Counsel for the Petitioners:BOYARAVINDER REDDY Counsel for the Respondents: P.R.BALARAMI REDDY(SC FOR AP TRANSCO) The Court made the following : ORDER: The petitioners were initially employed in the Rural Electricity Cooperative Society Limited, Atmakur, Nellore District. Over a period of time, the said society was liquidated and its assets and liabilities were merged with the A.P. Southern Power Distribution Company Limited, the second respondent herein, in terms of G.O.Ms.No.125, dated 15.10.2001. In the year 2006, it was noticed that the petitioners were extended certain scales of pay beyond their entitlement during the year 1990. On that basis, the third respondent issued memo, dated 22.11.2006, directing the recovery of excess amount paid to the erstwhile employees of the petitioners. The proceedings are challenged in this writ petition. Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and learned Standing Counsel for the respondents. Certain reasons are, no doubt, stated in the impugned memo, dated 22.11.2006, as constituting the basis for effecting recovery from the petitioners. The fact, however, remains that the petitioners were not put on notice, nor they were given an opportunity to explain as to why recovery shall not be effected against them. Therefore, the impugned proceedings are violative of principles of natural justice. On this short ground, the Writ Petition is allowed and the impugned memo is set aside. It is, however, left open to respondents 2 and 3 to pass fresh orders, after issuing notice to the petitioners stating the reasons for the proposed action. There shall be no order as to costs. ____________________ Dt.21.07.2008 L.NARASIMHA REDDY, J GJ