IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) WEDNESDAY, THE TWENTY SECOND DAY OF APRIL TWO THOUSAND AND NINE PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE GHULAM MOHAMMED and THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE B.SESHASAYANA REDDY WRIT PETITION Nos : 22980, 23762, 23435, 23430,23462, 23461,23460,23458,23459,23457,23436,23434,23433 , 23437 & 23369 of 2005 Writ Petition No. 22980 of 2005 Between: 1 State of Andhra Pradesh, Reop. by its Prl. Secretary to Government, Hyderabad, 2 The Commissioner & Director of Agriculture, Saifabad, Hyderabad, ..... PETITIONERS AND M/s. Duddempudi Sailaja D/o. D. Tirupataiah Near Sivalayam, Duggirala, Guntur District-522 330 .....RESPONDENT 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 a writ of Certiorari or any other appropriate writ, Order or direction, calling for the records relating to and connected with the Order dt.5- 10-2005 in O.A.No. 2326/2005 on the file of the Hon'ble A.P. Administrative Tribunal and quash the same and pass such other or further orders as are deemed fit and proper. WRIT PETITION NO : 23762 of 2005 Between: 1 State of Andhra Pradesh Rep. by its Prl. Secretary to Government, Agriculture Dept., Secretariat Hyderabad. 2 The Commissioner & Director of Agriculture, Saifabad Hyderabad. ..... PETITIONERS AND 1 A. Achyutha Rao S/o. A.K.Rao, Rythu Bazar Kothagudem Khammam District. 2 A.Sailaja D/o. Venkat Reddy, Rythu Bazar Saroornagar Hyderabad. 3 P.Nagabhushanam S/o. Subbarayudu, R/o. Kudbullapur R.R.District. yderabad. 4 S. Shanmugam S/o. A. Radhakrishnaiah Department of Horticulture Hyderabad. 5 N. Ramanjaneya Reddy S/o. N. Reddappa Reddy R/o. Rythu Bazar Kadapa. 6 V. Naga Prameela Rani D/o. V. Chandraiah Chowdary R/o. Rythu Bazar Kukatpally, Hyderabad. 7 S. Clarence Krupalani D/o. Krupanandam R/o. Rythu Bazar R.K.Puram, Hyderabad. 8 B.Sailaja D/o. Satyanarayana 35 R/o. Rythu Bazar R.K.Puram, Mehidipatnam Hyderabad. 9 Sasi Kanth S/o. Rama Rao, R/o. Rythu Bazar Alwal R.R.District. 10 T.Aruna Jyothi D/o. T.Nagabhushanam R/o. Rythu Bazar Khammam. 11 C.M.Radhika Rani D/o. Satyanarayana R/o. Rythu Bazar Erragadda, Hyderabad. 12 Jayaprada D/o. Satyanarayana R/o. Rythu Bazar Miryalguda, Nalgonda District. 13 A. Ajitha D/o. P.P.Raman R/o. Chittoor C/o. A.D.Horticulture, Chittoor. 14 Sunilt Kumar Reddy S/o. Balagangi Reddy R/o. Kadapa. 15 Khader Basah S/o. Khader Ali, R/o. Tirupathi. 16 Sri Ramulu S/o. Ramaiah Agriculture Research Station Ananthapur. 17 Mauni Krishnaiah S/o. Nadapaiah Agricultural Research Station Ananthapur. 18 Pratap S/o. Venkata Reddy Agricultural Research Station Ananthapur. 19 Murali S/o. M. Rangappa Agriculture Research Station Ananthapur. 20 M.Humayun S/o. Shaik Hussain G.V.K.Samarlakota, W.G. District. 21 Siva Ramakrishna S/o. Narayana, National Research Centre Pedavegi Eluru, West Godavari District. 22 Penchal Raju S/o. Raju Regional Agricultural Research Station Lam, Guntur. 23 Babita S/o. Govindaiah Regional Agricultural Research Station Tirupathi. 24 Latha D/o. Damodar Naid Regional Agricultural Research Station Tirupathi. 25 Narayana Swamy S/o. Lakshmaiah Agricultural Research Station Ananthapur. 26 V.Srilatha D/o. Mahadeva Reddy Horticulture Kadapa. 27 Sarada D/o. Ranga Swamy Agricultural Research Station Ananthpur. 28 Sureshan S/o. Ramachandran Horticulture Ananthpur. 29 S. Mahitha Kiran S/o. A. Somi Reddy Agricultural Research Station Ananthpur. 30 Devender Reddy S/o. Sanjeeva Reddy O/o. Asst. Director of Horticulture Mahaboobnagar. 31 Laxma Reddy S/o. Thamma Reddy O/o. Asst. Director of Horticulture Mahaboobnagar. 32 N. Sunanda W/o. Vara Prasad R/o. Hyderabad. 33 J.Sailaja W/o. Satyanarayana AICRIP Rajendranagar, Hyderabad. 34 Kiran Kumar S/o. Adinarayana Murthy R/o. Rajendranagar Hyderabad. 35 A. Dinakar S/o. A.S.Reddy R.A.R.S Jagityala, Karimnagar District. 36 A. Ram Reddy Kumar S/o. A. Rami Reddy, Tirupathi. 37 Madhsudan Reddy S/o. Subba Reddy R/o. Pelirendla Kadapa. .....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 a Writ of Certiorari or any other appropriate writ, order or direction, calling for the records relating to an connected with the order dated 22-8-2005 in O.A.No.2187/2005 on the file of the Hon'ble A.P. Administrative Tribunal and quash the same and pass such other order or further orders as are deemed fit and proper. WRIT PETITION No : 23435 of 2005 Between: 1 State of Andhra Pradesh Rep. by its Prl. Secretary to Government Agriculture Dept., Secretariat Hyderabad 2 The Commissioner & Director of Agriculture, Saifabad, Hyderabad. ..... PETITIONERS AND 1 Ch.Yakaiah S/o. Venkataiah R/o.H.No.2-4-1602, Ashoka Colony, Hanumakonda Warangal District. 2 B.Ranyi S/o. Mangya R/o. Singaram (P) & (V) Thanda Mandal Mahaboobabad Warangal District. 3 Jatoth Manohar S/o. Dalpath R/o. Ramachandrudu Thanda (V) Pedda Vanyara (P) Kodakandla (M) Warangal 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 a Writ of Certiorari or any other appropriate writ, order or direction, calling for the records relating to and connected with the order dated: 22-8-2005 in O.A.No.2283/2005 on the file of the A.P. Administrative Tribunal and quash the same and pass such other order or further orders as are deemed fit and proper. WRIT PETITION NO : 23430 of 2005 Between: 1 State of Andhra Pradesh, Represented by Prl. Secretary to Government, Agriculture Department, Secretariat, Hyderabad. 2 The Commissioner & Director of Agriculture, Saifabad, Hyderabad. ..... PETITIONERS AND P. Vijaya Bhaskar, S/o. Venkata Seshaiah, Ponnaluru Mandal, Prakasam Districtr. .....RESPONDENT 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 a writ of Certiorari or any other appropriate writ, Order or direction, calling for the records relating to and connected with the order dated 09-9-2005 in OA No.2323/2005 on the file of the Hon'ble AP Administrative Tribunal and quash the same and pass such other or further orders as are deemed fit and proper WRIT PETITION NO : 23462 of 2005 Between: 1 State of Andhra Pradesh, Reop. by its Prl. Secretary to Government, Hyderabad, 2 The Commissioner & Director of Agriculture, Saifabad, Hyderabad, ..... PETITIONERS AND S. Ramakrishna S/o. Rukmaiah R/o. Kammarpalli (V) & (M), Nizamabad, .....RESPONDENT 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 a writ of Certiorari or any other appropriate writ, Order or direction, calling for the records relating to and connected with the Order dt.22-8-2005 in O.A.No.2290/2005 on the file of the Hon'ble A.P. Administrative Tribunal and quash the same and pass such other or further orders as are deemed fit and proper. WRIT PETITION NO : 23461 of 2005 Between: 1 State of Andhra Pradesh, rep by Principal Secrtary to Government, Agriculture Department, Secretariat, Hyderabad 2 The Commissioner & Director of Agriculture, Saifabad, Hyderabad ..... PETITIONERS AND 1 P.V.L.Bharathi W/o Late P.V.P.R.C. Srinivas, R/o D. NO. 16/3/667, Ramamurthy Nagar, Nellore 2 The Commissioner & Director of Agriculture Saifabad, Hyderabad .....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 a Writ of Certiorari or any other appropriate Writ, Order or direction, calling for the records relating to and connected with the order dated 22-8-2005 in O.A. No. 3028/2005 on the file of the Hon'ble A.P. Administrative Tribunal and quash the same and pass such other or further orders as are deemed fit and proper WRIT PETITION NO : 23460 of 2005 Between: 1 State of Andhra Pradesh, Reop. by its Prl. Secretary to Government, Hyderabad, 2 The Commissioner & Director of Agriculture, Saifabad, Hyderabad, ..... PETITIONERS AND J.Dharmendra Kumar S/o.Vijaya Prasad R/o.Opp.S.A.School, Ithangar, Tenali, Guntur District. .....RESPONDENT 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 a writ of Certiorari or any other appropriate writ, Order or direction, calling for the records relating to and connected with the Order dt.22.8.2005 in O.A.No.2299/2005 on the file of the Hon'ble A.P. Administrative Tribunal and quash the same and pass such other or further orders as are deemed fit and proper. WRIT PETITION NO : 23458 of 2005 Between: 1 State of Andhra Pradesh, Represented by its Prl. Secretary to Government, Agriculture Department, Secretariat, Hyderabad. 2 The Commissioner & Director of Agriculture, Saifabad, Hyderabad. ..... PETITIONERS AND 1 Sri K. David Raju, S/o. Jakaraiah, R/o. Cheekurai X Road, Peddapalli (P) & (M), Karimnagar District. 2 Srinivas, S/o. Bhoomaiah, R/o. 2-32, Raikal (P) & (M), Karimnagar 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 a writ of Certiorari or any other appropriate writ, Order or direction, calling for the records relating to and connected with the order dated 09-9-2005 in OA No. 2304/2005 on the file of the Hon'ble AP Administrative Tribunal and quash the same and pass such other or further orders as are deemed fit and proper WRIT PETITION NO : 23459 of 2005 Between: 1 State of Andhra Pradesh Rep. by its Prl. Secretary to Government Agriculture Dept., Secretariat Hyderabad 2 The Commissioner & Director of Agriculture, Saifabad, Hyderabad. ..... PETITIONERS AND P.Sateesh Atchyutapuram (V) Khammam District. .....RESPONDENT 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 a Writ of Certiorari or any other appropriate writ, order or direction, calling for the records relating to and connected with the order dated: 22-8-2005 in O.A.No.2242/2005 on the file of the A.P. Administrative Tribunal and quash the same and pass such other order or further orders as are deemed fit and proper. WRIT PETITION NO : 23457 of 2005 Between: 1 State of Andhra Pradesh Rep. by its Prl. Secretary to Government Agriculture Dept., Secretariat Hyderabad 2 The Commissioner & Director of Agriculture, Saifabad Hyderabad. ..... PETITIONERS AND A. Veeranjaneyulu S/o. Narayana R/o. Ongole Prakasam District. .....RESPONDENT 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 a Writ of Certiorari or any other appropriate writ, order or direction, calling for the records relating to and connected with the order dated: 22-8-2005 in O.A.No.2271/2005 on the file of the A.P. Administrative Tribunal and quash the same and pass such other order or further orders as are deemed fit and proper. WRIT PETITION NO : 23436 of 2005 Between: 1 State of Andhra Pradesh, represented by its Prl. Secretary to Government, Agriculture Department, Secretariat, Hyderabad. 2 The Commissioner & Director of Agriculture, Saifabad, Hyderabad. ..... PETITIONERS AND B.Usha Rani, d/o B.Chenna Reddy, R/o Venkataramana Colony, Road No.8, H.No.45/142/A/47/4, Kurnool, Kurnool District. .....RESPONDENT 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 a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ, order or direction, calling for the records relating to and connected with the order dated 22-8-2005 in OA no.2499/2005 on the file of the Hon'ble A.P. Administrative Tribunal and quash the same and pass such other or further orders as are deemed fit and proper. WRIT PETITION NO : 23434 of 2005 Between: 1 State of Andhra Pradesh, rep by Prl. Secretary to Government, Agriculture Department, Secretariat, Hyderabad 2 The Commissioner & Director of Agriculture Saifabad, Hyderabad ..... PETITIONERS AND A. Srinivas S/o Mallaiah R/o Hasan Meerapur Dubbaka (M), Medak District .....RESPONDENT 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 a Writ of Certiorari or any other appropriate Writ, Order or direction, calling for the records relating to and connected with the order dated 22-8-2005 in O.A. No. 2298/2005 on the file of the Hon'ble A.P. Administrative Tribunal and quash the same and pass such other or further orders as are deemed fit and proper WRIT PETITION NO : 23433 of 2005 Between: 1 State of Andhra Pradesh, rep by Principal to Government, Agriculture Department, Secretariat, Hyderabad 2 The Commissioner & Director of Agriculture, Saifabad, Hyderabad ..... PETITIONERS AND T. Surya Prakasa reddy S/o T. Subbarami Reddy C/o Horticultural Farms, Tirupathi & Srikalashasthi Chittoor District .....RESPONDENT 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 a writ of Certiorari or any other appropriate Writ, order or direction, calling for the records relating to and connected with the Order dated 22-8-2005 in O.A. No. 2595/2005 on the file of the Hon'ble A.P. Administrative Tribunal and quash the same and pass such other or further orders as are deemed fit and proper WRIT PETITION NO : 23437 of 2005 Between: 1 State of Andhra Pradesh, Reop. by its Prl. Secretary to Government, Hyderabad, 2 The Commissioner & Director of Agriculture, Saifabad, Hyderabad, ..... PETITIONERS AND 1 T. Suresh Kumar S/o.Sudhakar Reddy, SRMK, CRIDA, Santoshnagar, Hyderabad,R/o. MIGH No.1A, A.P.H.B. Colony, Nalgonda, 2 M. Venkateswara ReddyS/o. Krishni Reddy, Santoshnagar, Hyderabad, R/o. Jagurlamudi Village, Yuddurapudi Mandal, Prakasam District, 3 P. Pratap Reddy S/o. Mathias Reddy R/o. Tapadu Village, Nardala Mandal, Guntur District, 4 M. Chandrasekhar Reddy S/o. Subba Reddy Guntur R/o. R. Ummadivaram Village, Pullalacheruvu Mandal, Prakasam District, 5 S.S.N. Malleswara Rao S/o. Venkateswara Rao R/o. Kokakaluru, Tenali Mandal, Guntur District, 6 K. Vikram Swaroop Chandra Reddy S/o. K. Kalachandra West Godavari District, R/o. Baranyapatnam, W.G. District. 7 K. Venkata Siva Reddy S/o. Sambi Reddy, R/o. 4-16-537, Potti Sririramulu nagar, 5th Line, Arundalpet, 18th cross Road, Guntur. 8 J. Satish Babu S/o. Srinivasa Rao R/o. Pothukatla Village, Parchurva Mandal, Prakasam District, 9 M. Chandrasekhar Reddy S/o. Chow Reddy K.V.K. Mahanandi, R/o. 25/193, Sanjeevanagar, Naderla, Kurnool 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 a writ of Certiorari or any other appropriate writ, Order or direction, calling for the records relating to and connected with the Order dt.22-8-2005 in O.A.No.2330/2005 on the file of the Hon'ble A.P. Administrative Tribunal and quash the same and pass such other or further orders as are deemed fit and proper. WRIT PETITION NO : 23369 of 2005 Between: 1 State of Andhra Pradesh, Rep. by its Prl. Secretary to Government, Hyderabad, 2 The Commissioner & Director of Agriculture, Saifabad, Hyderabad, ..... PETITIONERS AND 1 Smt. M. Manjulatha W/o. Sri D.P.R. Chowdary, APF No.21, Tobacco Board, Podili, Prakasam District, 2 Sri M.S.V. Chalam S/o. Sri M.A.S. Praswad, R/o. Amalapuram, West Godavari District-533 201, 3 Sri T. Krishna Prasad, S/o. Sri T. Venkateswara Rao R/o. H.No. 2-20-7, Ramakotamma Street, Tadepalligudem, W.G. District- 534 101, 4 Sri G. Sowjanya Ray, S/o. Late G. Muthyala Rao R/o. H.No. 1-18-23, Gokapeta, Vizianagaram, Vizianagaram 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 a writ of Certiorari or any other appropriate writ, order or direction, calling for the records relating to and connected with the Order dt.22-8-2005 in O.A.No.2333/2005 on the file of the Hon'ble A.P. Administrative Tribunal and quash the same and pass such other or further orders as are deemed fit and proper. Counsel for the Petitioners: THE ADVOCATE GENERAL Counsel for the Respondents : Mr. N.Chandradhar Rao, Mr.P.Naveen Rao, Mr.C.Srinivasa Baba, Mr.M.Surender Rao, Ms.K.Rajya Lakshmi, Mr.K.Mohan Rami Reddy, Mr.K.G.Krishna Murthy and Mr.P.Lakshmana Rao The Court made the following : IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) WEDNESDAY, THE TWENTY SECOND DAY OF APRIL TWO THOUSAND AND NINE PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE GHULAM MOHAMMED and THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE B.SESHASAYANA REDDY WRIT PETITION Nos : 22980, 23762, 23435, 23430,23462, 23461,23460,23458,23459,23457,23436,23434,23433 , 23437 & 23369 of 2005 COMMON ORDER: (per Ghulam Mohammed, J) Since all these writ petitions arise out of a common order dated 22.08.2005 passed in O.A.Nos.2186 of 2005 and batch, and the order dated 5.10.2005 in O.A.No.2326 of 2005 passed by the Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunal, Hyderabad, they are being disposed of by this common order. 2. O.A.Nos.2186, 2187, 2242, 2271,2330, 2333, 2499, 2595 and 3028 of 2005 and O.A.No.2326 of 2005 were filed by the respondents seeking to declare the action of the petitioners in restricting the marks for the experience gained by the candidates those who worked as Agricultural Officers/Consultants and Multi Purpose Extension Officers (MPEOs) through G.O.Rt. No.131 dated 10.02.2005 and consequent notification dated 26.4.2005 for selection to the posts of Agricultural Officer in the Agricultural Department issued by the first and second petitioners respectively, as illegal and arbitrary and to direct the petitioners to extend the benefit of weightage marks for experience gained by the respondents. 3. The other O.As i.e. O.A. No.2283, 2290, 2298, 2299 and 2304 of 2005 in the batch were filed seeking to declare the action of the petitioners in providing minus marks in the selection of Agriculture Officers in the Department of Agriculture in terms of GO.Rt.No.131, dated 10.2.2005 and the consequential Notification No.7/1/387/2005 dated 26.04.2005 issued by the first and second petitioners respectively, as arbitrary and violative of Articles 14,16 and 21 of the Constitution of India. 4. The respondents are graduates/post-graduates in Agriculture. The Government, vide G.O.Rt.No.131, dated 10.2.2005, accorded permission to the Commissioner and Director of Agriculture for filling up of the posts of Agricultural Officers by direct recruitment on regular basis during 2004-05, earmarking 15 marks @ 4 marks per year for the satisfactory service rendered as Agriculture Officers/ Consultants (ANTWA) and M.P.E.Os on contract basis in the Department of Agriculture, subject to a maximum of 15 marks. Consequently, the Commissioner and Director of Agriculture, Hyderabad issued notification dated 26.4.2005 calling applications for appointment to the post of Agricultural Officer by direct recruitment on regular basis. Questioning the said G.O. and the consequent notification dated 26.04.2005, the respondents herein filed the above said O.As contending that earlier to the said notification, the authorities have taken into consideration the services rendered by similarly situated candidates in any of the Government Department, either temporary or on adhoc basis and the allotment of maximum 15 marks to those who worked in the Agricultural Department as Agricultural Officers/Consultants and M.P.E.Os on contract basis by excluding others from the zone of consideration is arbitrary, illegal and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. 5. The petitioners authorities herein filed a common counter affidavit before the Tribunal, inter alia, stating that due to the delay in the process of recruiting Agriculture Officers by the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission,(A.P.P.S.C.), the Government has withdrawn the recruitment of the said post from the purview of A.P.P.S.C. and issued G.O.Ms.No.238, dated 07.04.1989 constituting a Selection Committee for selection of candidates to the post of Agriculture Officer. In the recruitment conducted during 2002, the Selection Committee has considered for awarding marks as specified by the Government in G.O.Ms.No.17 dated 21.01.2000 and also awarded marks for experience to those who worked in Government Department and Public Sector undertakings as also private organizations in identical post. Since it is difficult to verify the authenticity of the Service Certificates issued by various Public Sector Organisations as well as other departments, the Government has withdrawn the marks earmarked for the services rendered in other departments/Public Sector undertakings etc. Accordingly, the selection procedure specified in G.O.Ms.No.17 dated 21.1.2000 was amended by G.O.Ms.No.213 dated 25.8.2003, but no recruitment has taken place during the year 2003-04. While so, on the representation made by the Graduates in Agriculture, who worked as Agriculture Officers/Consultants and M.P.E.Os, on contract basis in the Agriculture Department, the Government issued G.O.Ms.No.131 dated 10.2.2005, prescribing the selection procedure. Since the duties/functions performed by the Agricultural Officers/Consultants and M.P.E.Os on contract basis in Agricultural Department and the duties/ functions performed in other departments i.e. Rytu Bazar, DWMA (District Water Management Agency) ITDA, Horticulture, Sericulture and Research Work in University are different, the candidates worked in Agricultural Department alone are given experience marks as per the said G.O. Therefore, there are no valid grounds for the respondents to claim experience marks. 6. The Tribunal, after taking into consideration the facts and circumstances of the case, by common order dated 22.8.2005 partly allowed O.A. Nos. 2186, 2187, 2242, 2271,2330, 2333, 2499, 2595 and 3028 of 2005 and dismissed the remaining O.As. Subsequently, the Tribunal disposed of O.A.No.2326 of 2005 on 5.10.2005 by following the common order passed in O.A. Nos. 2186, 2187, 2242, 2271,2330, 2333, 2499, 2595 and 3028 of 2005 dated 22.08.2005. Aggrieved by the orders passed in O.A. Nos. 2186, 2187, 2242, 2271,2326, 2330, 2333, 2499, 2595 and 3028 of 2005, the present writ petitions are filed. 7. The learned Special Government Pleader, represented by the learned Advocate General, appearing on behalf of the petitioners, vehemently contended that the Tribunal erred in holding that the duties/ functions of the applicants are equivalent with that of Agricultural officers/Consultants and M.P.E.Os without there being any material on record. He contended that the respondents though dealing with the agricultural related subject, their duties/functions are not akin to the duties/functions attached to the Agriculture Officers in the Agriculture Department. He contended that the Tribunal erred in not considering the job chart mentioned in the counter-affidavit and exceeded its jurisdiction in setting aside G.O.Rt.No.131 dated 10.02.2005 insofar as awarding experience marks only to Agriculture Officers/ consultants and M.P.E.Os in Agriculture Department on contract basis. He contended that the Government has taken a policy decision in issuing the said G.O. in accordance with the interests of the department and for the vast extension of transformation of technology in the agriculture department and bifurcation of various departments. He further contended that the Tribunal erred in holding that the decision taken by the Government was not being guided by any legal aid or State experts or influenced by any other factors. He further contended that the applicants have not filed any reply to the counter- affidavit to show that their duties/ functions are akin to the agricultural officers working in the Agriculture Department so as to apply the doctrine of equality under Article 14 of the Constitution of India. He further contended that the reasoning adopted by the Tribunal is unjust and irrational which cannot stand to legal scrutiny. 8. Sri N. Chandradhar Rao, learned counsel for some of the respondents, contended that the Government issued G.O.Rt.No.131 dated 10.02.2005 based on the representations made by the Agricultural graduates, who worked as Agriculture Officers/ Consultants and M.P.E.Os on contract basis in the Agriculture Department excluding the applicants, who belong to other departments. He further contended that till 2002, marks for experience were awarded to all experienced persons worked in other departments, but later in 2005, the Government have restricted it only to the Agricultural Department vide G.O.Rt.No.131, dated 10.02.2005, without assigning any reasons. He relied upon a decision reported in KAILASH CHAND SHARMA vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN[1] wherein it was held as under: “The first and foremost question that would arise for consideration in this group of appeals is, whether the circular dated 10.06.1998 providing for bonus marks for residents of the district concerned and the rural areas within that district is constitutionally valid, tested on the touchstone of Article 16 read with Article 14 of the Constitution. It is on this aspect, learned Senior Counsel appearing for the candidates concerned have argued at length with admirable clarity, making copious reference to several pronouncements of this Court. There can be little doubt that the impugned circular is the product of the policy decision taken by the State Government. Even then, as rightly pointed out by the High court, such decision has to pass the test of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. If the policy decision, which in the present case has the undoubted effect of deviating from the normal and salutary rule of selection based on merit is subversive of the doctrine