THE HON’BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE SRI ANIL R. DAVE AND THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V. NAGARJUNA REDDY WRIT APPEAL NO.1131 OF 2009 Dt.18.9.2009 Between: Padi Trinadha Rao … Petitioner And The Collector & District Magistrate Visakhapatnam, Visakhapatnam District … Respondents THE HON’BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE SRI ANIL R. DAVE AND THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V. NAGARJUNA REDDY WRIT APPEAL NO.1131 OF 2009 JUDGMENT: (per the Hon’ble Sri Justice C.V. Nagarjuna Reddy) This Writ Appeal arises out of order dt.4.8.2009 in W.P. No.15688 of 2009, whereby the learned Single Judge dismissed the Writ Petition filed by the appellant against the order of the District Collector cancelling the appellant’s community certificate on the ground that he can avail alternative remedy of filing an appeal under Section 7 of the Andhra Pradesh (Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes) Regulation of Issue of Community Certificates Act, 1993 (for short, “the Act”). In this appeal, the appellant contended that the respondent failed to follow the mandatory procedure prescribed under Rules 8 and 9 of the Rules made under the Act and therefore as the order itself is vitiated by procedural illegality, the appellant ought not to have been relegated to the statutory appeal. After taking instructions, learned Government Pleader for Social Welfare fairly submitted that the District Collector has not referred the complaint against the appellant to the Scrutiny Committee constituted under Rule 8 of the Rules and that the mandatory procedure prescribed under Rule 9 has not been followed. A Division Bench of this Court in D. Sudershan v. Government of Andhra Pradesh[1] considered the provisions of Rules 8 and 9 of the Rules and held that failure to follow the procedure prescribed therein vitiates the order passed cancelling the community certificate. Having regard to the admitted position that the District Collector failed to follow the mandatory procedure, the order impugned in the Writ Petition cannot be sustained. Accordingly, the Writ Appeal is allowed. The order of the learned Single Judge passed in the Writ Petition and the order dt.25.7.2009 passed by the respondent are set aside. The respondent is directed to follow the procedure prescribed under Rules 8 and 9 of the Rules and pass a final order within a period of four months from today. As a sequel to disposal of the Writ Appeal, W.A.M.P. No.2345 of 2009, filed by the petitioner for interim relief, is dismissed as infructuous. ______________ ANIL R. DAVE, CJ ______________________ C.V. NAGARJUNA REDDY, J 18.09.2009 bnr Note: Issue C.C. in one week. (B.O) bnr [1] 2004 (7) ALT 584 (DB)