P R PRASAD Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The common prayer in this batch of writ petitions is for the issue of a writ of mandamus declaring that the Advocates are entitled to be classified under "Non-OYT Special" Category for allotment of Telephones and consequently to direct the 2nd respondent-General Manager, Telephones, Telephone Bhavan, Hyderabad, to register the applications of the petitioners on the respective dates when they were made, under Non-OYT Special category and to grant telephone connections forthwith.

(2.) All the petitioners in this batch of Writ Petitions are Advocates, who have been practising in various courts from a considerably long time.

(3.) The provision of telephone connections is regulated by the rules and instructions framed by the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India, as amended from time to time. Telephone Allotment Rules, 1980 have been framed and several amendments have been effected in the rules by the Department over the period of ten years. It needs to be made clear at the very outset that these Telephone Allotment Rules, 1980 are not statutory in character as they have not been framed in pursuance of the rule making power under Section 7 of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 (Act 13 of 1885), hereinafter referred to, for short as "the Act". Under Section 4 of the Act it is provided that within India, the Central Government shall have the exclusive privilege of establishing, maintaining and working telegraphs and that the Central Government may grant a licence, on such conditions and in consideration of such payments as it thinks fit, to any person to establish, maintain or work a telegraph within any part of India. It is further provided that the Central Government may, by rules made under this Act and published in the Official Gazette, permit, subject to such restrictions and conditions as it thinks fie, the establishment, maintenance and working of wireless telegraphs within Indian Territorial waters and of telegraphs other than wireless telegraphs within any part of India. Under Section 7 of the Act it is provided that the Central Government may, from time to time, by notification in the official Gazette, make rules consistent with the Act for the conduct of all or any telegraphs established, maintained or worked by the Government or by persons licensed under the Act. The R 34 rules so framed under the said section are to provide for the matters which have been enumerated therein. A close reading of the provisions of Section 7 of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 reveals the fact that the subject of allotment of telephones does not fall within the purview of the rule making power under Section 7 of the Act. The Telephone Allotment Rules, 1980 are, therefore, in the nature of administrative instructions issued by the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India and have been amended quite freely and liberally from time to time by the Department of Telecommunications. It must be made clear that the entire batch of these writ petitions is concerned with the question ot the inclusion of the petitioners, who happen to be the practising advocates, in the "Non-OYT Special Category". The object of the batch of the Writ Petitions does not appear to be exclusion of any category which has been included in the "Non-OYT Special Category" but it is to include the names of the Advocates in the said category.