KRISHNA RAO DESHPANDE Vs. DEPUTY COMMR CHITRADURG DISTRICT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners in these cases were hereditary Shanbhogues or Village Accountants working as such hv virtue of their personal rights in accordance with the provisions of the Mvsore Village Offices Act, 1908. For the reasons and in the circumstances to which we shall make reference presently, they ceased to he hereditary officers but continued to work as Sharbhogues by virtue of sub-section (2) of S. 16 of the.Mysore Land Revenue Act 1964 In these petitions they claim that their services under the Government should be regularised in accordance with the Mysore State Civil Services (Recruitment of Local Candidates to Class III Posts) Rules, 1966.

(2.) There is no dispute about the facts. As already stated, the village offices held by these petitioners were hereditary offices, the appointment to which was governed by rules of succession applicable under their personal law. After the promulgation of the Constitution questions arose about the constitutionality or propriety of continuing the principle of hereditary succession in the matter of public offices. The Supreme Court in the case of Dasaratha Rama Rao v. State of A.P., AIR.1961 SC. 564 declared that application of hereditary principle would be an infringement of Art. 16. The said authoritative declaration of the law put an end to the continuance of hereditary succession to public offices.

(3.) In 1961, the State of Mysore enacted an Act called Mysore Village Offices (Abolition) Art whereby all the hereditary village offices were abolished. They also promulgated in the same year 1961 rules under the proviso to Art 300 of the Constitution called the Mysore General Services (Revenue Subordinate Branch) Village Accountants (Cadre and Recruitment) Rules 1961 Though the rules came into force from 1st December 1961, the Abolition Act was brought into force much later, that is, on 1st February, 1963. Various writ petitions were filed in this Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Act. This Court upheld the validity of the Act and dismissed those writ petitions Appeals against the orders of this Court as well as writ petitions directly presented to the Supreme Court were dismissed bv the Supreme Court on 21st January 1966. The judgment of the Supreme Court is reported In Shankaranarayana v. State of Mysore, AIR. 1966 SC. 1571