THE HON’BLE Ms. JUSTICE G. ROHINI WRIT PETITION No.1014 OF 2010 Dated: 15.02.2010 Between: 1. K. Madhukar and 3 others. … Petitioners And 1. The Executive Director, APSRTC, Hyderabad & Karimnagar Zones, MGBS, Gowliguda, Hyderabad and another. .. Respondents THE HON’BLE Ms. JUSTICE G. ROHINI WRIT PETITION No.1014 OF 2010 ORDER : The petitioners herein are working as Conductors in A.P. State Road Transport Corporation (for short, ‘the Corporation’). In response to the notification dated 14.10.2009 issued by the Corporation proposing to fill up the vacancies of Junior Assistants in Hyderabad Zone by way of promotion and calling for applications from the eligible departmental candidates, including the Conductors, the petitioners submitted their applications. The written test was scheduled to be held on 19.01.2010 and the syllabus prescribed was as under : S Y L L A B U S: 01) The Test will be of SSC Standard. 02) Test will be of 3 (THREE) Hours duration. 03) The subjects to be covered are :- (i) General English (50 Marks) : The questions shall be on (a) Correct the spellings of words (b) Correct the sentences (c) Letter writing (d) Precis writing and (e) Essay Writing in General English (ii) General Awareness (25 Marks) (iii) Arithmetics (25 Marks) However, an addendum was issued by the Corporation on 24.11.2009 modifying the syllabus for the qualifying examination to the post of Junior Assistants as under: 01) The Test will be of SSC Standard. 02) Test will be of 3 (THREE) Hours duration. 03) The subjects to be covered are :- (i) General English (25 Marks) (a) Correcting of spellings of words - 5 Marks (b) Correct the sentences - 5 Marks (c) Letter writing - 10 Marks (d) Precis writing - 5 Marks (ii) Telugu Basha Parignanam (25 Marks) (a) Translation from English to Telugu - 10 Marks (b) Letter writing - 10 Marks (c) Telugu Meaning to English words - 5 Marks (iii) General Awareness (25 Marks) (iv) Arithmetics (25 Marks) As per the schedule, the written test was held on 19.01.2010 and the petitioners appeared for the same. However, it was found that the test was not conducted in accordance with the revised syllabus prescribed in the addendum dated 24.11.2009 but it was as per the syllabus prescribed in the earlier notification dated 14.10.2009. Aggrieved by the said action of the Corporation, the present writ petition is filed contending inter alia that by virtue of the impugned action of the Corporation the petitioners were deprived of the 25 marks earmarked for Telugu Basha Parignanam which was inserted in the addendum dated 24.11.2009. I have heard the learned counsel for both the parties and perused the material on record, including the counter-affidavit filed on behalf of the respondents. It is to be noticed that the syllabus prescribed in the original notification dated 14.10.2009 did not include the subject of Telugu. Out of the total 100 marks, 50 marks were earmarked for General English and 25 marks each were earmarked for General Awareness and Arithmetics. However, by way of addendum dated 24.11.2009 Telugu was also included as one of the subjects and 25 marks were earmarked for the same. Fifty marks earmarked for English in the earlier notification dated 14.10.2009 were reduced to 25 marks and for General Awareness and Arithmetics the 25 marks each have been maintained. The fact that the written test was conducted on 19.01.2010 as per the syllabus prescribed in the earlier notification dated 14.10.2009 only for 3 subjects without including Telugu has not been disputed in the counter-affidavit filed on behalf of the respondents. However, it is stated that the Corporation has proposed to conduct a separate Test for Telugu for 25 marks for all the 820 candidates who appeared for the written examination held on 19.01.2010. Since admittedly the respondents failed to conduct the written test as per the syllabus notified, I am of the opinion that the entire procedure has been vitiated and the defect cannot be cured by merely conducting a separate test for Telugu for 25 marks. Admittedly the test was held on 19.01.2010 for 100 marks out of which the English paper contained 50 marks. In the circumstances, if the performance of the candidates in the said examination is allowed to be taken into consideration, undoubtedly it would lead to avoidable complications in the evaluation as well as awarding of marks. Accordingly, the Writ Petition is allowed as prayed for and the written test held on 19.01.2010 is hereby set aside leaving it open to the respondents to conduct a fresh test in terms of the syllabus prescribed in the addendum dated 24.11.2009. No costs. _____________ G. ROHINI, J. Dt. 15.02.2010 gbs