SUPERINTENDENT OF POST OFFICES KHAMMAM Vs. KALLURI VASAYYA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A controversy of considerable interest and public importance is aroused by this Writ Appeal preferred under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent against the order of our learned brother Jeevan Reddy, J. It is (a) whether right to employment is a fundamental right guaranteed under Art. 16 of the Constitution and (b) whether past prejudicial conduct and antecedents of a person relating to his subversive political activity prescribed as a disqualification for employment under Government of India in Office Memoranda dated 27/09/1967 and 1/08/1975 of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, amounts to an infraction of the provisions of Art. 16 of the Constitution.

(2.) The controversy in this case grew out of the denial of employment to one Kalluri Vasayya, to a Civil post - a post of Time-Scale Clerk in the Indian Posts and Telegraphs Department, Government of India. Vasayya, a Science Graduate, applied for the post of Time-Scale Clerk in the Indian Posts and Telegraphs Department. He was selected for the post and was allotted to Khammam Postal Division. He was asked by the appointing authority viz., the Superintendent of Post Offices, Khammam, to produce the original certificates and medical certificate of fitness and the prescribed attestation from duly filled in for the verification of his character and antecedents. In the attestation form filled in by the candidate, he disclosed that he has been convicted by a Court of Law for an offence punishable under S. 25(A) read with S. 3 of the Indian Arms Act in C.C. No. 12 of 1970 on the file of the Judicial First Class Magistrate, at Madhira and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for one year. On appeal, the sentence, it appears, was reduced to rigorous imprisonment for 4 months. On a further revision to the High Court, the High Court in Crl. R.C. No. 537 of 1970 confirmed the conviction but instead of sentencing him to any punishment, directed his release under S. 562 Cr. P.C. on probation of good conduct. The attestation form contained full details and history of the candidates academic qualifications, places of study, past history etc. The appointing authority then ordered on the receipt of the attestation form, verification of the character and antecedents of the candidate by the Collector and District Magistrate, Khammam. The Collector on verification of the character and antecedents reported to the Superintendent of Post Offices by his letter dated 18/09/1978 that Kalluri Vasayya was an extremist underground member of Chandra Pulla Reddy group during 1968 and 1969, that on the intervening nights of 16/ 17/09/1969. Vasayya along with five other underground extremists were arrested at Ginnelavagu of Gopalpet forest and six unlicensed S.B.M.L. guns and two country made bombs were seized from their possession. It was further reported that after his release from the jail, Vasayya worked as plain area organiser of the extremist party in Khammam taluk by harbouring the under area cadres of the extremist party and he was closely moving with the P.D.S.U. and other Sympathisers of the extremists like Vaddeli Krishna Murthy etc. Therefore, in view of the report relating to the past character and antecedents of Vasayya, the Superintendent of Post Officers cancelled the selection and did not depute Vasayya for training. The 3 other candidates who were selected along with Vasayya were deputed to training. Vasayya, therefore approached the Superintendent of Post Offices, Khammam to ascertain as to why he was not sent for training while the others selected along with him were deputed to training. The Superintendent of Post Offices informed him that he was not deputed for training since the report relating to his character and antecedents from the Collector was still awaited. Aggrieved against the alleged discriminatory action of the Superintendent of Post Offices in not deputing him for training along with the other candidates selected for the post of Time-Scale clerk, Vasayya, filed the Writ Petition on 19/09/1978 contending that the action of the Superintendent of Post Offices who is impleaded as the first respondent in the Writ Petition was violative of Art. 16 of the Constitution. It was further stated by him in the Writ petition that he has no association with the naxalite movement and that the police of Hanamkonda filed a case against him under the Arms Act while he was a student in the Government High School, Hanamkonda on a mere suspicion. He contended that denial of employment to him on the ground of his previous conviction was bad in law.

(3.) The writ petition was resisted by the respondents. It was pleaded that the Government had every right to verify the suitability of a person with reference to his character and antecedents before entertaining him to public service. It was also contended that the petitioner had not acquired any right of employment simply because he was selected for the post and that in any case mere selection to a post does not confer any right which can be enforced in a writ proceedings.