P GANESHWAR RAO Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal by special leave is filed against the judgment dated 23-4-1982 of the Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunal in Representation Petition No. 508 of 1982 issuing a direction to the State Government to refrain from making any direct recruitment against temporary vacancies in the cadre of Assistant Engineers under the Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Engineering Service (Special) Rules (hereinafter referred to as 'the Special Rules') as amended by G.O. Ms. No. 227 dated 28-4-1980 and issuing certain other ancillary directions. The facts of the case are as follows.

(2.) RECRUITMENT to the Andhra Pradesh State and Subordinate Services was governed by the Andhra Pradesh State and Subordinate Services Rules, 1962 (hereinafter referred to as 'the General Rules'). Rule 6 of the General Rules which dealt with the method of recruitment provided that where the normal method of recruitment to any service, class or category was neither solely by direct recruitment nor solely by transfer but was both by direct recruitment and by transfer, the proportion or order in which the special rules concerned may require vacancies to be filled by persons recruited direct or by those recruited by transfer shall be applicable only to substantive vacancies in the permanent cadre. In those Rules the expression 'special rules' meant the rules in Part III of the General Rules applicable to each service or class of service and included ad hoc rules applicable to temporary posts. On 23-3-1.963 the Governor of Andhra Pradesh promulgated in exercise of his powers conferred by proviso to Art. 309 of the Constitution of India the Special Rules providing for the constitution of and the method of recruitment to the Andhra Pradesh Panchayati Raj Engineering Service and the Special Rules were given retrospective effect from 1/11/1960. Under the Special Rules the Andhra Pradesh Panchayati Raj Engineering Service was to consist of four categories of officers, namely, Chief Engineer, Superintending Engineer, Executive Engineer and Assistant Engineer. The post of Assistant Engineer was required to be filled up as follows : <FRM>JUDGEMENT_740_SUPP1_1988Html1.htm</FRM>

(3.) THEIR contention was that the 51 vacancies which had been notified to the Public Service Commission for direct recruitment could not be filled up any longer by direct recruitment as according to them after the amendment of the Rules on 28-4-1980 only 37-1/2 per cent of the substantive vacancies could be filled up by direct recruitment. They contended that the 51 vacancies which had been notified to the Public Service Commission had been arrived at by taking into consideration temporary vacancies also and that was not permissible after the amendment. They further urged that under the Special Rules, as amended on 28-4-1980, only 8 vacancies could be filled up by direct recruitment. When the above representation made by them did not elicit any positive reply from the State Government, they instituted Representation Petition No. 508 of 1982 on the file of the Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunal for injunction restraining the State Government and the Public Service Commission from recruiting 51 persons as direct recruits to the cadre of Assistant Engineers. The petition was opposed by the State Government. It pleaded that the amendment made on 28-4-1980 to the Special Rules was only prospective in effect and had no effect on the vacancies which had arisen prior to the date on which the amendment was made and, therefore, it was open to the State Government to fill by direct recruitment 37-1/2 per cent of the total number of vacancies (substantive as well as temporary) in the cadre of Assistant Engineers which had arisen before the amendment. The Tribunal rejected the contention of the State Government and held that it was not permissible for the State Government to make recruitment to the 51 vacancies after the Special Rules were amended on 28-4-1980 irrespective of the fact that the vacancies in question had arisen prior to the date of the amendment. Accordingly the Tribunal directed the State Government and the Public Service Commission to refrain from making any direct recruitment against the temporary vacancies in the Andhra Pradesh Panchayati Raj Engineering Service contrary to the Special Rules as they stood amended from 18-4-1980. Aggrieved by the decision of the Tribunal some of the candidates, who had been selected by the Public Service Commission as Assistant Engineers, filed a special leave petition in this Court under Art. 136 of the Constitution of India requesting this Court to grant special leave to appeal against the judgment of the Tribunal. On 4-6-1982 this Court granted special leave to appeal against the judgment of the Tribunal and also stayed the operation of the judgment of the Tribunal. Thereafter the State Government issued a notification bearing G.O.Ms. No. 525 dated 30-10-1982 appointing the appellants, respondent No. 4 and 48 others as Assistant Engineers (now called Deputy Executive Engineers) on temporary basis under R. 10(a)(i)(1) of the General Rules. 44 of the 51 candidates so appointed joined service as Deputy Executive Engineers. All those who joined the service accordingly have continued to be in the service of the State of Andhra Pradesh till now.