SAIDULU Vs. FINANCE AND PLANNING PROJECTS WING

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition is directed against the order dated 30-3-2001 passed by the Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunal, Hyderabad in O.A.No.5409 of 2000.

(2.) The facts of the case in brief giving rise to filing of this writ petition by V. Saidulu and G.V. Krishna Murthy are as follows: (a) Petitioner No.1 V. Saidulu was appointed as Junior Assistant in the office of Director of Accounts, Nagarjuna Sagar Project (Accounts), Hill Colony, Nagarjunasagar on 26-10-1968 and he was promoted as Senior Assistant on 16-11-1975. Petitioner No.2 G. V. Krishna Murthy was appointed as Junior Assistant on 28-4-1969 in the office of Director of Accounts, Nagarjuna Sagar Project (Accounts), Hill Colony, Nagarjunasagar and was promoted as Senior Assistant on 5-7-1977. R-4 K. Prabhakar Reddy was appointed as Junior Assistant on 4-2-1972 in the Office of Director of Accounts, Nagarjunasagar Project (Accounts), Hill Colony, Nagarjunasagar and promoted as Senior Assistant on 22-4-80. R-5 K. V. Durga Rao was appointed as Junior Assistant on 22-6-1971 in the office of Srisailam Left Branch Canal, Circle No. II, Nalgonda and he was promoted as Senior Assistant in the year 1977. The Government formed Pay and Accounts Office at Nalgonda to attend to the pay and accounts functions of the works relating to SLBC under G.O.Ms.No.6, dated 20-3-1985 with the following staff: <FRM>JUDGEMENT_567_ALT5_2003Html1.htm</FRM> The Government issued memo prescribing the method of filling up of non-gazetted posts in the newly formed Pay and Accounts office at Nalgonda. As per the memo dated 26-7-1985 issued by Finance and Planning (Projects Wing) Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh, the non-gazetted posts in SLBC shall be filled up by the surplus staff of Director of Accounts, NSP and Director of Accounts, Srisailam Project. Number of posts to be filled up from the Director of Accounts, NSP and Director of Accounts, Srisailam Project are also specified in the said memo. The surplus staff of Director of Accounts, NSP to be absorbed in the Pay and Accounts office of SLBC shall form part of Director of Accounts, Srisailam Project and their transfers are treated as on administrative grounds. The office of Director of Accounts of Nagarjunsagar Project allotted the surplus staff on the principle of last come first go to the newly formed office of Pay and, Accounts of SLBC, Nalgonda. The office of Director of Accounts, Srisailam Project under office Order No.DOA/SLMP/F.29/83-86/163, dated 10-8-85 posted R-4 and nine others in the Pay and Accounts Office at SLBC. He joined as Senior Assistant on 20-8-85. R-5 was a Senior Assistant in the office of SLBC, Circle-II, Nalgonda, he came to the office of Pay and Accounts, SLBC, Nalgonda on his request by taking the last rank in the category of Senior Assistant. He joined as Senior Assistant in the Pay and Accounts Office on 3-9-87. Consequent on the reduction of the establishment in the office of Pay and Accounts organization of Nagarjunasagar Project, certain posts were diverted to Pay and Accounts offices of Priyadarshini Jurala Project at Gadwal and Srisailam Left Branch Canal at Nalgonda under Government Order dated 16-6-88. Willingness of the persons working in different cadres in the Directorate of Accounts, Nagarjunasagar Project was called for. Thirteen Senior Assistants expressed their willingness to work in the Pay and Accounts office of SLBC, Nalgonda. The names of 13 Senior Assistants as per the seniority in the Office of- Director of Accounts, Nagarjunasagar Projeqt, Hill Colony who expressed their willingness to work in the Pay and Accounts office, SLBC, Nalgonda are as follows:

(3.) The learned counsel for the petitioners contends that the findings in earlier proceedings do not prevent the official respondents to prepare the seniority list as per law and therefore the Tribunal was not justified in taking stray observations in the earlier proceedings to conclude that the transfer of the petitioners was at their request. This argument is countenanced by counsel for the respondents on the ground that the findings recorded by the Tribunal in the earlier proceedings cannot be ignored by the official respondents in preparing the seniority list. It is further contended by him that findings of fact recorded by the Tribunal is not required to be interfered with in the writ jurisdiction except where the High Court is satisfied that the finding is vitiated by a manifest error of law or is plainly per se. It is also contended by him that the promotions given to R-4 and R-5 cannot be reviewed after a long lapse of 9 or 10 years of their officiating in the promotion post. He placed reliance on the decision of Supreme Court in APSRTC and others v. V. Veeraiah, Ashok Kumar v. Sita Ram and the decision of our High Court in G. Veeraiah v. Government of Andhra Pradesh. In the first cited decision, a conductor in APSRTC came to be transferred pursuant to the order made by the Corporation on 8-7-1980. In that order it was noted that he was transferred on his request and his seniority will be reckoned in the manner stated therein. The Supreme Court held that since the transfer of the conductor was pursuant to his request it couldn't be treated to have been effected on account of administrative exigencies and creation of a new division. In the second cited decision, the Supreme Court held that the High Court ought not to have interfered with the order of Administrative Tribunal in the writ jurisdiction except where the High Court satisfied that the finding is vitiated by a manifest error of law or is primarily perverse and that the High Court could not interfere only because it takes a different view on the material on record. In the third cited decision, our High Court held that in case of transfer on request from one unit to another unit, seniority of a member is to be reckoned in the transferred unit as provided under Rule 27 (iii) of A.P. Ministerial Service Rules.