IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) THURSDAY, THE TWENTY FIRST DAY OF AUGUST TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE GHULAM MOHAMMED and THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE C.V.RAMULU WRIT PETITION NO : 1792 of 2004 Between: M.A. Mannan Farooqui S/o Mohd. Faiyazuddin Farooqui working as Assistant Section Officer, law Department A.P. Secretariat, Saifabad, Hyderabad ..... PETITIONER AND 1 State of Andhra Pradesh rep by Secretary to Government, Legal Affairs Law Department, Secretariat, Saifabad Hyderabad 2 S. Nagender Prasad S/o Assistant Section Officer, Law Department A.P. Secretariat, Saifabad, Hyderabad 3 J. Venkateswar Rao Assistant Section Officer, Law Department A.P. Secretariat, Saifabad, 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 will be pleased to issue an appropriate writ or order or direction more particularly one in the nature of Writ of Mandamus in declaring G.O.Ms. No. 61 dt 09-05-2003 and the consequential proceedings issued in O.O.Ms. No. 24 dt 27-05-2003 and and Memo No. 1082/74.A/M1/2002.4 dt 6.11.2002 of the 1st respondent as illegal and arbitrary against Rules 16 and 35 of the A.P. State and Subordinate Service rules against G.O.Ms. No. 237 dt 27-04-1993 and accordingly set aside the Judgment in O.A. No. 4094 of 2003 dt 20-11-2003 with a consequential direction to direct the Respondents to regularise the services of the petitioner in the post of Typist-cum- Assistant with effect from 08-06-1993 with all consequential and attendant benefits Counsel for the Petitioner:MR.K.R.SRINIVAS Counsel for the Respondent : SMT.M.BHASKARA LAKSHMI FOR R2.9.05,VAK-2 GP FOR SERVICES II FOR RAPP-1 The Court made the following : THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE GHULAM MOHAMMED and THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE C.V.RAMULU WRIT PETITION NO : 1792 of 2004 Oral Order: (Per Sri GM, J) This Writ Petition has been filed challenging the judgment dated 20-11-2003 in O.A.No.4094 of 2003 passed by the Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunal, Hyderabad with consequential direction to the respondents to regularize the services of the petitioner in the post of Typist-cum-Assistant with effect from 8-6- 1993. O.A.No.4093 of 2003 was filed by the petitioner Sri M.A. Mannan Farooqui aggrieved by G.O.Ms.No.61, dated 9.5.2003 of the 1st respondent under which his date of regularization was altered to that of passing of the Telugu Higher grade Typewriting Test. According to the petitioner he was promoted as Typist-cum- Assistant in the law Department on 8.6.1993 with a condition that he should acquire Telugu Typewriting Higher Grade within two years from the date of his appointment as Typist-cum-Assistant. The petitioner acquired the said qualification on 13-7-1995. Initially, the 1st respondent vide G.O.Ms.No.57 dated 11.04.2001 fixed the seniority and regularized the services of both the unofficial respondents and the petitioner with effect from the dates of their appointments and in those proceedings the date of appointment of the petitioner was shown as 8.6.1993 and that of the unofficial respondents as 7.3.1994 and 11.6.1993. The petitioner states that subsequently he was promoted as Assistant Section Officer. While the matters stood thus, the 1st respondent vide G.O.Ms.No.61 dated 9.5.2003 cancelled G.O.Ms.No.57 dated 11.4.2001 and changed the date of petitioner’s regularization from 8.6.1993 to 13.7.1995 which is the date of passing of the type writing test (Telugu Higher Grade). Thus, the authorities have changed the dates of regularization and probation with effect from the dates when the petitioner has passed the Typewriting Tests. Aggrieved by the said action of the respondent-authorities, the petitioner filed the present O.A. The petitioner states that the impugned action of the respondents is contrary to the rules which envisage that the seniority has to be counted from the dates of their regular appointment or promotion as per Rule 27 of the Andhra Pradesh Ministerial Service Rules. It is further stated that by virtue of the impugned G.O. the unofficial respondent no.2 was placed over and above the applicant and is shown at Sl. No.1 and the petitioner is shown at Sl.No.4., after a lapse of almost 2 years. The Tribunal on consideration of the evidence on record came to the conclusion that respondents 2 and 3 were already in possession of the qualification of Typewriting Telugu Higher Grade on 30-6-1994, and accordingly, held that seniority has to be fixed from the date of passing of the examination and dismissed the O.A. Hence, this Writ Petition. Learned counsel for the petitioner relying on G.O.Ms.No.237 dated 27-4-1993 and Rule 33 of the A.P. State and Subordinate Service Rules, 1999 contends that the seniority has to be counted from the date of the appointment. Learned counsel further submits that the petitioner was promoted as Typist-cum-Assistant in the Law Department with a condition that he should acquire Telugu Typewriting Higher Grade within two years from the date of appointment and that the petitioner has passed Telugu Typewriting test on 13-7-1995 within the period of probation. On the other hand, learned counsel for the respondents contends that as on the date of appointment the petitioner was not qualified since he was not having qualification of passing of Telugu Higher Typewriting test and the authority has rightly determined and regularized his services from the date of passing of the test that is on 13-7-1995. It was further contended that the Government ought not to have given a relaxation asking him to pass the test within a period of probation and that as on the date of appointment the petitioner has not passed the Telugu Higher Typewriting examination. We have heard the learned counsel for both the parties and perused the judgment under challenge. Relevant paragraphs from the typed copy of G.O.Ms.No.237 dated 27-4-1993, produced by the petitioner, are extracted hereunder : “ ….. 2) Smt. S. Anantalakshmi Kumari, Typist-cum-assistant has now represented that she passed Telugu Typewriting examination by Higher Grade during January 1992 and requested that her services may be regularized with effect from 1-11-1989. 3) The request has been examined in terms of the orders issued in the G.O. 1st to 3 rd cited. In the said G.Os. it has been laid down that if candidates who have passed typewriting examination by Higher Grade are not available, those who have passed that examination by lower grade may be appointed, subject to acquiring Higher Grade qualification within the period of probation… ( ) But it is not laid down in the rules that services of such employees will be regularized from the date of passing typewriting higher grade examination in Telugu. It is therefore, considered that imposition of this condition is not as per the rules and is not justified. 4). Accordingly, show cause notice have been issued to 69 Typist- cum-Assistants who are likely to be affected by the provisional conclusion arrived at ( ) the objections raised by 10 Typist-cum- Assistant in this regard are rejected separately. 5). The Government hereby order that the condition imposed at the time of appointment of Smt. S. Anantalakshmi Kumari as Typist-cum- Assistant in the G.O. 4th read above that her services will be regularized from the date of passing Typewriting Higher Grade Exam in Telugu be deleted. It is also directed that the services of Smt. S. Anatalakshmi Kumari be regularized with effect from 1.11.1989 in the category of Typist-cum-Assistants. She is placed below Sri G.Kothari and above Sri C. Rama Rao in the seniority list of Typist-cum- Assistants constituting single unit.” The above, G.O.Ms.No.237 dated 27-4-1993 clarify that the seniority and regularization has to be done with effect from the date of appointment and not from the date of passing of Telugu Typewriting Higher Grade Test as there are no rules to that effect. Rule 33 of the A.P. State and Subordinate Services Rules also postulates that seniority has to be given from the date of his original appointment and it does not from the date of passing of the test. The petitioner was appointed in the cadre of Library Assistant originally in the Law Department and he was promoted as Typist-cum-Assistant on 8.6.1993. In the order of promotion he was directed to acquire the Typewriting Telugu Higher Grade within two years from the date of his appointment as Typist-cum- Assistant. The petitioner has acquired Typewriting Telugu Higher Grade qualification on 13.7.1995, whereas the unofficial respondents have not borne in the law department, by the time the petitioner was appointed as Typist-cum-Assistant, but they have come on request from other departments during the year 1994. The petitioner is admittedly senior to the unofficial respondents and his seniority has to be reckoned form the date of his original appointment. Even though the order dated 8.6.1993 promoting the petitioner as Typist-cum-Assistant stipulates a condition that he should pass Telugu Typewriting Higher Grade within two years from the date of appointment, nowhere it is stated that his services will be regularized only with effect from the date of his acquiring Typewriting Telugu Higher Grade. That apart, the petitioner has stated that the Technical Board has not conducted the examination in time, which is not disputed. Even the petitioner has passed the examination, one month after the two years period prescribed in the order dated 8.6.1993. For the above reasons, the impugned order dated 20-11- 2003 in O.A.No.4094 of 2003 passed by the Tribunal is set aside and the writ petition is allowed directing the respondents to reckon the seniority of the petitioner from the date of his original appointment as Typist-cum-Assistant. No costs. --------------------- GM, J ---------------------- CVR, J Date : 21-7-2008 kk