Rama Rao & Ors vs M.G. Maheshwara Rao & Ors

3. The Karnataka Administrative Tribunal was constituted on 6.10.1986. The Government of Karnataka sanctioned the cadre strength and framed the Cadre and Recruitment Rules, 1986. The appointments of stenographers were made in the year 1988. The Government published on 23.9.1992 a new set of draft rules. The stenographers filed objections to the draft rules. On 31.5.1993 the Government published the Recruitment Rules. Though the stenographers made representations to the Government, their representations were rejected. Thereupon they filed application Nos.2250-2252 of 1993 and 2253-2258 of 1998 before the Administrative Tribunal challenging the prescription of degree and test as qualifications for promotion to the post of Junior Judgment Writer in the Rules. It is seen that the assistants or any one that would be affected from that branch by an adjudication, were not impleaded in the proceeding. The Administrative Tribunal allowed the applications and quashed the Rules in part. Essentially, what the Administrative Tribunal did was to alter the qualifications provided for promotions in the cadre of stenographers by doing away with the higher qualifications prescribed. The striking down of the Rules was done by a Bench presided over by the Vice-Chairman of the Administrative Tribunal. Thereafter the vice-chairman proceeded to promote the stenographers on the basis of the qualification prescribed by him on the judicial side. The assistants felt aggrieved by the promotions thus given. They, therefore, moved application Nos.3585-3592 of 1995 and other connected applications before the Administrative Tribunal challenging the decision of the Administrative Tribunal dated 6.7.1994 as also the promotions given to the respondents in those applications, the promoted stenographers. The applications were opposed on various grounds. By order dated 21.4.1997, the Administrative Tribunal dismissed the applications. It was challenged by the Assistants before the High Court in the writ petitions already referred to. The High Court, by the judgment under appeal, allowed the writ petitions in part holding that the Administrative Tribunal had no jurisdiction to alter the qualifications for promotions as it had done and since promotions were made on the basis of this unauthorized interference with the Rules prescribing qualifications for promotions, the promotions were bad. As a logical follow up, instead of setting aside all the promotions, the High Court set aside only the promotions of non-graduate stenographers and declined to interfere with the promotions of the graduate stenographers. The non-graduate stenographers are aggrieved by the setting aside of the judgment of the Administrative Tribunal and the quashing of the promotions of non-graduates. The Assistants are aggrieved by what they call the failure of the High Court to give effect to its own judgment and in not setting aside the illegal promotions given to all stenographers including the graduate stenographers. That is how these sets of appeals are before us.

4. Logically it would be proper to deal first with the appeal filed by the stenographers against the judgment of the High Court. For, if we were to agree with the contentions of the appellants therein, the judgment of the High Court setting aside the order of the Administrative Tribunal will have to be set aside and in that case no further orders would be required except to restore the order of the Tribunal. Only if we were to dismiss the appeals filed by the Assistants and were to uphold the decision of the High Court on the main aspect, we need consider the grievance of the assistants that the High Court should have, as a consequence of its own decision, set aside the promotions of graduate stenographers as well, since those were illegal promotions. We will, therefore, first deal with the appeals by the stenographers.

9. Suffice it to say that we agree with the conclusion of the High Court that the decision dated 6.4.1997 rendered by the Administrative Tribunal was totally unsustainable and the question of promotion has to be on the basis of the Rules as they stood prior to the interference with it by the Tribunal.

10. Thus, we find no merit in the appeals filed by the stenographers and the cancellation of their promotions on the basis they did not possess the requisite qualifications for promotion as per the Rules.

12. We think that the proper course to adopt is to undertake a fresh exercise of promoting the officers from both streams in accordance with the Rules framed in that regard. But as the High Court held, the stenographers who had been promoted and whose promotions have now been cancelled, need not be visited with the penalty of having to refund the higher salaries and allowances they have received in the promotional posts. Therefore, even while cancelling all the promotions and directing a fresh exercise to be undertaken, we direct that no recovery shall be made from the salaries paid to the stenographers in regard to the period they have worked in their promoted posts on the ground that their promotions have now been quashed.

13. In the result, we dismiss Civil Appeal Nos.7474- 7477 of 2003 and allow the Civil Appeal Nos.7478-7481 of 2003. We substantially affirm the decision of the High Court but set aside in that part of it by which it declined to set aside the promotions of graduate stenographers. We direct the undertaking of a fresh exercise regarding promotions of those who are qualified in accordance with the Rules by the concerned as expeditiously as possible. We direct that there shall be no recovery from the salaries and allowances paid to the stenographers whose promotions are cancelled by the High Court and by us while they worked in their promoted posts. The parties are directed to suffer their respective costs in this Court.