IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) TUESDAY, THE EIGHTH DAY OF JULY TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT PRESENT THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE GHULAM MOHAMMED and THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V.RAMULU WRIT PETITION No.17259 of 2006 Between: Thummala Vishnu Narayana, s/o Vengaiah, O/o The Executive Engineer (Roads & Buildings), Electrical Division, Guntur, Guntur District. ..... PETITIONER AND 1 The Superintending Engineer (R&B), Roads & Buildings Circle, Collectorate Compound, Guntur, Guntur District. 2 The Executive Engineer (R&B), State Highway Project Division, Vinukonda, Guntur 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 may be pleased to issue a writ order or direction more particularly one in the nature of writ of Certiorari calling for the records with regard to the order dated 25-4-2006 passed in O.A.No.1173/2004 on the ﬁle of A.P.A.T. Hyderabad and declare the same as illegal, improper, unjust, arbitrary, contrary to law and consequently direct the respondents to continue the petitioner as Typist and to pass such other order or orders as this Honourable Court may deem fit and proper in the interest of justice. Counsel for the Petitioner: MR.P.PHALGUNA RAO Counsel for the Respondents: GP FOR SERVICES II The Court made the following: THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE GHULAM MOHAMMED AND THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE C.V. RAMULU WRIT PETITION No.17259 OF 2006 ORDER: (Per Hon’ble Sri Justice Ghulam Mohammed) This writ petition is ﬁled questioning the order dated 25.04.2006 passed in O.A.No.1173 of 2004 on the ﬁle of the Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunal, Hyderabad. 2. Brief facts of the case are that the petitioner, who was initially appointed as Attender in the Roads and Buildings Department, was appointed as Typist by transfer, vide order dated 15.10.1998, subject to condition that he should acquire the qualiﬁcation of Telugu Typewriting Higher Grade within the period of probation on the pain of postponement of increment without cumulative eﬀect. Subsequent thereto, the petitioner has passed Telugu Typewriting Lower Grade in the year 1999, but however could not comply with the condition of acquiring the qualiﬁcation of Telugu Typewriting Higher Grade within the period of probation. Thereupon, the 1st respondent has issued proceedings dated 19.01.2004 reverting the petitioner to the post of Attender and subsequently the 2nd respondent has issued consequential proceedings dated 30.01.2004 relieving the petitioner from the post of Typist. Aggrieved by the said action of the respondents, the petitioner has approached the A.P. Administrative Tribunal by way of O.A.No.1173 of 2004. It was the case of the petitioner that the order of promotion does only speak about acquiring the qualiﬁcation of Telugu Typewriting, but not Telugu Typewriting Higher Grade, and since he passed Typewriting Telugu Lower Grade and fulﬁlled the condition, the reversion is illegal. The Tribunal, after detailed consideration of the matter, held that the contention of the petitioner that the condition was not mentioned in the appointment order cannot be accepted for the reason that any holder of post, under the services of State, is bound by the rules under proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution of India, and that the A.P. Ministerial Service Rules contemplate that one has to acquire the qualiﬁcation of Typewriting Higher Grade in Telugu and since the petitioner has not acquired the said qualiﬁcation, he has been rightly reverted to the lower post, and accordingly dismissed the O.A. by the impugned order. Aggrieved by the same, the present writ petition has been ﬁled. 3. Heard both sides. 4. It appears, petitioner was appointed initially as an Attender in the Roads and Buildings Department and he joined duty on 02.01.1979. After more than 17 years, he was appointed by transfer as Typist vide Order dated 15.10.1998. As on the date of his transfer, he was having the qualification of Typewriting English Higher Grade and immediately, in the year 1999, he had passed Telugu Typewriting Lower Grade. However, he had passed the Telugu Typewriting Higher Grade during the pendency of this writ petition. The Tribunal proceeded on the footing, whether there was any condition in the order of appointment as Typist or not, is immaterial and as per law, he is supposed to acquire all the requisite qualifications. May be, the said observation is true, but by the time when the petitioner was appointed, he was already holding a pass certiﬁcate in English Typewriting Higher Grade and he immediately acquired the qualiﬁcation of Telugu Typewriting Lower. It is not the case of the respondents that in view of not acquiring typewriting telugu higher grade by the petitioner, any work had suﬀered at any point of time. Further, during the pendency of the O.A., the impugned order of reversion was stayed and even during the pendency of the writ petition, there was a direction to the 1st respondent to continue the petitioner as Typist. That apart, petitioner has completed 10 years of service in the cadre of Typist, as of now, and he is fully qualiﬁed to hold the post of Typist and there was no inconvenience caused to the Department. Under those circumstances, we are of the opinion that there is no necessity of reverting the petitioner to his initial post of Attender at this length of time. Therefore, the impugned order of the Tribunal is liable to be set aside. 5. Accordingly, the writ petition is allowed and the impugned order is set aside. The O.A. shall stand accordingly allowed and, consequently, respondents are directed to continue the petitioner in service as Typist. No order as to costs. _______________________ JUSTICE GHULAM MOHAMMED _________________ JUSTICE C.V. RAMULU 8th July, 2008 IBL