THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE D.S.R.VARMA AND THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE K.C. BHANU Writ Petition No.7941 of 2007 Dated: 15-02-2008 Between : Ch. Sujatha and another. … Petitioner/s And The Government of Andhra Pradesh, Rep.by its Principal Secretary, Backward Class Welfare Department, Secretariat Buildings, Hyderabad and 6 others. … Respondent/s THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE D.S.R. VARMA AND THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE K.C. BHANU Writ Petition No.7941 of 2007 ORAL ORDER: (per the Hon’ble Sri Justice D.S.R.Varma) Heard the learned counsel appearing for the petitioners as well as the learned Government Pleader for Services-II, appearing for respondent Nos.1 to 4, and Sri S.Gopal Rao, learned counsel appearing for respondent Nos.5 to 7. 2. This Writ of Mandamus is filed seeking to direct the official respondents to continue the petitioners as Senior Assistants in the B.C. Welfare Department and grant all the increments due to them and fix their pay in the revised pay scale of 2005, by holding and declaring that the unofficial respondents are juniors to the petitioners and the petitioners are entitled for continuation as Senior Assistants in the B.C. Welfare Department, as the petitioners are the born employees of the B.C. Welfare Department and are liable to be repatriated to the B.C. Welfare Department as per the judgment of the A.P. Administrative Tribunal (for brevity “the Tribunal”) in O.A.No.5342 of 2004, dated 21-11-2006, and further direct the official respondents to grant all consequential seniority and other benefits in the category of Senior Assistants in the B.C. Welfare Department, without reference to the orders of the Tribunal in O.A.No.1711 of 2007, dated 10-04- 2007. 3. The facts, in brief, are as under:- Petitioner Nos.1 and 2 were originally appointed as Typist and Junior Assistant, respectively, in B.C. Welfare Department. They were sent on deputation to Social Welfare Department, somewhere in the year 1989. Subsequently, they were promoted as Senior Assistants. Thereafter, having found that the petitioners originally belong to B.C. Welfare Department, they were repatriated to B.C. Welfare Department. But, on the request made by the Director of B.C. Welfare, for continuation of the petitioners in the Social Welfare Department, the District Collector, East Godavari District, by order, dated 01-09-2004, issued the orders of reversion to the petitioners and accommodated them in their respective places. The said reversion orders were challenged before the Tribunal by way of filing O.A.No.5342 of 2004 and the Tribunal, by order, dated 21-11-2006, dismissed the said O.A., stating that the petitioners are the born employees of the B.C. Welfare Department. Subsequently, when the petitioners were repatriated to their parent Department i.e., B.C. Welfare Department, they were not admitted by the B.C. Welfare Department as their employees, obviously owing to the trifurcation of the Social Welfare Department into three wings viz., B.C. Welfare Department, Tribal Welfare Department and Social Welfare Department. Perhaps, in view of the said trifurcation after their deputation in the year 1989, there was some dither in the minds of the competent authorities i.e., B.C. Welfare Department, whether to accept the petitioners as their employees and they were continuing as Senior Assistants in the Social Welfare Department, by virtue of the interim orders granted by the Tribunal. Subsequently, when the petitioners were not granted the increments due to them and denied the fixation of their pay in the revised pay scales of 2005, they filed the present application O.A.No.1711 of 2007 before the Tribunal. 4. When the matter came up for admission on 10-04-2007, the Tribunal having heard the matter, issued notice before admission, but did not pass any interim order for continuation of the petitioners as Senior Assistants in the B.C. Welfare Department. Hence, the present writ petition. 5. Now, it has been brought to the notice of this Court by the learned counsel for the petitioners that the Government of Andhra Pradesh, represented by the Secretary, B.C.Welfare(A) Department, through Memo.No.299/A/2008-1, dated 01-02-2008, while referring certain guidelines formulated by the Committee for allotment of staff members to the offices of Deputy Director, Social Welfare and District B.C. Welfare Officers in the State, directed the District B.C. Welfare Officer to admit the petitioners as Senior Assistants, duly protecting their seniority on par with their juniors without insisting any condition i.e., to take last rank in the seniority of Junior Assistant/Typist. 6. Now, the only question that is to be addressed by this Court is as to whether the Tribunal can grant interim direction or not. 7. We are not going into the merits of the case, nor we can do so, inasmuch as, the controversy raised before the Tribunal in the present O.A. i.e., O.A.No.1711 of 2007, has to be decided by the Tribunal only. 8. However, since the Government had issued Memo., dated 01-02-2008, regarding the allotment of staff members to the offices of Social Welfare and B.C. Welfare in the State, it is for the Tribunal to examine the scope of the said Memo, and dispose of the O.A., finally, or to dispose of the miscellaneous application filed by the petitioners before it. 9. Therefore, we feel it appropriate to remand the matter to the Tribunal for consideration of the case of the petitioners and pass appropriate order in the main O.A., or in the miscellaneous application, as the case may be, taking into account the Memo., dated 01-02-2008 issued by the Government. 10. With the above observations and direction, the writ petition is disposed of. There shall be no order as to costs. _______________________ JUSTICE D.S.R.VARMA _______________________ JUSTICE K.C.BHANU 15-02-2008 Msr THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE D.S.R.VARMA AND THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE K.C. BHANU Writ Petition No.7941 of 2007 15-02-2008 (Msr)