S PAULNADAR Vs. DIRECTOR OF FISHERIES TEYNAMPET

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE three writ petitions arose out of O.A.Nos.7078, 8584 and 8594 of 2000. O.A.7078 of 2000 was filed originally by three petitioners viz., S.Paulnadar, P.Rajamani and M.Maria George seeking to challenge the amendment made to the Service Rules by G.O.Ms.No.232, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Department dated 17.11.1999, wherein and by which, the recruitment to the post of Fishery Overseer Grade II was prescribed as that through Direct recruitment and through promotion from the categories of Fishery Guard and Fishermen.

(2.) THE case of the petitioners was that it did not include the category of Fisheries Statistical Investigator in the special rules. When the O.A., came up on 21.09.2000, the second and third petitioners viz., P.Rajamani and M.Maria George called their names deleted from the O.A. Subsequently, the said O.A., was admitted on 20.12.2000. Subsequently, on 12.10.2000, O.A.No.7078 of 2000 was dismissed for want of prosecution. THEreafter, the other two petitioners viz., P.Rajamani and M.Maria George filed separate O.As viz., 8584 of 2000 and 8594 of 2000 before the Tribunal and that was admitted on 23.11.2000. In those two original applications, they never revealed the fact of filing separate O.As., and in column Nos.7 and 8, for the reasons best known to them, these facts were not disclosed. However, the first O.A.7078 of 2000 was also restored by an order of the Tribunal dated 01.12.2000.

(3.) THE reason for not including the Statistical Investigator to the post of Fisheries Overseer Grade II as a Feeder Category as per the counter affidavit is that the Fisheries Statistical Investigator were paid only Honorarium according to the norms fixed by the Government. THE said Honorarium was increased from time to time. THE duties available to them will last only about a fraction of a month and at the maximum only 12 days in a month. Though originally, it was thought fit to include them in the feeder category, subsequently, under the reconsideration, it was decided that since there was no time scale of pay attached to the post; there is no need to include them in the Feeder Category and accordingly, the said category was omitted. Due to the reorganisation in the department of Fisheries, it was also considered that the Fisheries Statistical Investigator are purely temporary post and not covered by any time scale of pay and since there are no funds to create regular posts converting them into regular Government servants.