SALADA SANKARA RAO Vs. SECRETARY GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH FINANCE AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT SECRETARIAT HYD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners claim advance increments on the basis that they acquired Law degree qualifications relying on G.O.Ms.No.182 dated 17-7-1987, and contending that G.O.Ms.No. 142 dated 3-4-1996 cannot be interpreted as to deprive them of that benefit. It is not in dispute that the 1 st petitioner was promoted as Clerk in Munsif Magistrate Court at Cheepurupalli in 1982 under P.R.No.588/82 dated 7-10-82 of the 3rd respondent, which at the relevant time was a post falling under Category 5 under Division IV of Rule 5 of the Andhra Pradesh Judicial Ministerial Service Rules ('the Rules' for short), and that the said post was subsequently redesignated as Junior Assistant falling under the same category. This is admitted in the counter-affidavits dated 22-11-1996 of the 3rd respondent. The 2nd petitioner who was working as Examiner of copies in theMunsif Magistrate Court at Cheepurupalli was promoted as Telugu Typist under order P.R.No.50/85 dated 6-2-85 of the 3rd respondent. It is not in dispute that this post is also in Category 5 of Division IV of Rule 5 of the Rules.

(2.) In the counter-affidavits of the 3rd respondent it is stated that after 1 st petitioner was promoted as Junior Assistant he was converted as Additional Typist as per proceedings inP.R.No.6/83 dated 26-1-1983, and that the 2nd petitioner was not converted from the post of Junior Assistant to the post of Typist as she was directly promoted as Telugu Typist from the category ofExaminer of copies on the basis of her typewriting qualifications in English andTelugu.it is also stated that the scale of pay of Typist/ Additional Typist is equivalent to that of Junior Assistant. It is further stated that the promotions to the post of Junior Assistant/ Typist/Steno-typists, shall be made from the common seniority list of Examiners (Category 6 of Division IV), Amins (Category 1 of Division V), Reader (Category 2 of Division V) and Copyists (Division VI) as per Rule 6 of the Andhra Pradesh Judicial Ministerial Service Rules, and that because of their seniority and eligibility they have been promoted to the post of Typists. It is also stated that juniors to the petitioners are drawing advance increments for acquiring Law degree qualifications as they are working in the cadre of Junior Assistants. It is submitted in the counter-affidavits that the petitioners were not allowed to draw advance increments because the posts of Typists shown in Category 5 of Division IV of the Rules, though on par with those of Junior Assistants, do not carry the same duties, and that the duties of Typists are quite different from the duties discharged by Junior Assistants, and that Typists are getting special pay in addition to their pay scales in view of theirtyping qualifications.

(3.) The learned Counsel Mr. P. Ravi Prasad appearing for Respondent Nos.2 and 3 seeks to draw support from the judgment of a Division Bench of this Court in Md. Azamathulla Khan v. State of A.P. (1) 1996 (2) ALD 873 (D.B.) in which the scope of G.O.Ms.No. 182 dated 17-7-1987 was dealt with. The Bench referred to the essential term laid in the said G.O.Ms. No. 182, which is as follows: