THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, REP. BY ITS PRINCIPAL SECRETARY, HIGHER EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, SECRETARIAT, HYDERABAD AND OTHERS Vs. SRI K. VENKATA RAMANA AND ANOTHER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) - This writ petition arises out of order dated 09.02.2015 in O.A.No.3455 of 2012 with VMA.No.1271 of 2012 and VMA.No.66 of 2015 on the file of the Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunal at Hyderabad (for short 'the Tribunal').

(2.) Respondent No.1 was initially appointed as Physical Director by direct recruitment on 10.09.1986 in Government Junior College. On 24.10.1998, he was promoted as Physical Director/Lecturer of Degree College and posted in Zone-IV. He was due to retire on attaining the age of superannuation on 30.04.2012. As respondent No.1 was not allowed U.G.C. scale in terms of G.O.Ms.No.61 Higher Education (HE) Department, dated 16.07.2001, (for short 'G.O.Ms.No.61), he has approached the Tribunal by filing the above-mentioned O.A. By the impugned order, the Tribunal has allowed the said O.A by holding that as per para 7 of G.O.Ms.No.61, respondent No.1 is entitled to U.G.C. scale.

(3.) After hearing the learned Government Pleader for Services (A.P) and Sri C. Srinivas Baba, learned counsel for respondent No.1, the point that needs to be adjudicated is whether the Tribunal went wrong in interpreting G.O.Ms.No.61. The core part of G.O.Ms.No.61 lies in paragraphs 6 and 7 thereof, which read as under: