BALOJI BADHAVATH Vs. GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS Writ Petition has been filed challenging the paragraph 2 of the Annexure II appended to G. O. Ms. No. 570, dated 31-12-1997, and para 1 of Annexure-ll of notification No. 31 of 2007 dated 27-12-2007 to the extent that" the Number of candidates to be admitted to the written examination (Conventional Type) would be 50 times to the total number of vacancies available at the material time irrespective of communities", as illegal, unjust, and violative of Articles 14, 16 (4), 21 and 335 of the constitution of India with particular reference to Regulation 14-A and also contrary to rule 4 of the APPSC Rules, and to set aside the order of the Andhra Pradesh administrative Tribunal, Hyderabad in o. A. No. 4716 of 2008 dated 4-7-2008.

(2.) THE 2nd respondent-Andhra Pradesh public Service Commission, Hyderabad (for short "appsc"), vide notification No. 31 of 2007 dated 27-12-2007 notified 196 vacancies in various cadres of Group-l services and invited applications from the eligible candidates to participate in the selection process, in pursuance whereof, the petitioners herein, along with other aspirants numbering 1,68,000 have applied for the posts in Group-l Services. The APPSC conducted the screening test on 20-4-2008, and published the result of the screening test on 26-5-2008 selecting 9,800 candidates to the Written Examination (Mains) out of 1,68,000 candidates who participated in the screening test, stating that it has selected the candidates for the Written Examination (Mains) in the ratio of 1:50 in the order of merit, without reference to the category/ community vis-a-vis the earmarked reservation to their particular community.

(3.) ACCORDING to the petitioners, the respondents have selected the candidates for main examination in the order of merit in the ratio of 1:50, and did not take steps to see that the candidates of reserved categories to come to the level of zone of consideration in selecting the candidates in the ratio of 1:50, on the premise that the government issued G. O. Ms. No. 570 dated 31-12-1997 defining the programme of selection and scheme of examination of group-l services and that Paragraph 2 of the said G. O. mentions that the number of candidates to be admitted to the written examination (Mains) would be fifty times to the vacancies available at the material time irrespective of communities.