P. CHITHARANJA MENON & ORS. versus A. BALAKRISHNAN & ORS

Citation: [1977] 3 S.C.R. 687 · Decided: 25-04-1977 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: M. HAMEEDULLAH BEG · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

Cited by 1 judgment(s) · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

t 
P. CHITHARANJA MENON & ORS. 
v. 
A. BALAKRISHNAN & ORS 
April 25, 1977 
[M. H. BEG, C.J., A. C. GUPTA AND P. S. KAILASAM JJJ 
(i8 7 
Service n1atter-Pron1otions 1nade in J 962--1¥rit pctitiu11s filed in 1972-Jf 
could be entertained. 
A 
B 
On May 15, 1961 the State Government passed orders (Ex. Pl) that all 
Panchayat Officers functioning under the Travancore Cochin Panchayats 
Act, 
1950 and Panchayat Executive Officers functioning under the Madras Vilhi.ge 
Panchayats Act, 1951 as on December 31, 1961 who con.tinue to hold their 
appointments \Vhen the Kerala Panchayat Act, 1960 came into force would be 
C 
absorbed as Panchayat Executive Officers under the new Panchayats. The order 
also provided that the stalf of the Malabar District Board shall be absorbed as 
Pancbayat Executive Officers in suitable grades. 
I 
On the recommendation of the State Public Service Commission the State 
Government appointed 17 Panchayat Officers in a higher grade by an order 
dated December 28, 1961 (Ex. P8) and the officer joined their posts between 
December 30, 1961 and January 2, 1962. To fill up the resulting vacancies 17 
of this Panchayat Executive Officers who were in Grade II (respondents 3 to 18) 
D 
were appointed. The appel1ants were appointed as Executive Officers 
on the 
Grade I, as and from January l, 1962. 
The respondents' representation to the Government that they Should be 
appointed with effect from December 28, 1961, that is, the date on which the 
Public Service Commission communicated their appointment was rejected by the 
State Government (Ex. PIO) on the ground that the vacancies arose only on the 
1!~a;~a~~ l~6~a.:n~rt;~t cfu~;:hit!~~1l; ~~ce~~r b~O~~~i~ a~~~~~~ wi~ 
E 
the vacancies. In a petition under Art. 226 of the Constitution the High Court 
directed that fresh lists be prepared. 
Allowing the appeal, 
HEI.D : The respondents are not entitled to the reliefs prayed for by them 
in the writ petitions. [691 Fl 
The appellants were promoted to a higher post before the respondents were 
F 
integrated into the Government service on January l, 1962. Throughout 
the 
appellants have been treated as occupying a higher post and respondents' much 
lower post. Though the promo~ion of the appellants was before January 
1, 
1962 and was confirmed by vanous orders of the Government the respondents 
did not choose to challenge the orders till 1972. [689 G] 
There is no ground fo: challenging Ex. PIO order. It refers to the G.O. of 
February 13, 1962 by which 16 respondents in the writ petition were promoted 
as Executive Officers Grade I on the adYice of the State Public Service Commis-
G 
sion. Their promotion having been ordered on February 
13, 
1962 
without 
chaUenging that order a subsequent order which determined the date' of their 
conuilencement of service cannot be challenged. 
[689 E-FJ 
There is no merit in the respondents' contention that if the vacancies 
in 
which the appellants and other Panchayat Executive Officers 
were 
absorbed 
arose after January J, 1962 the _respondents would be entitled to be integrated 
along with the Panchayat Executive Officers and since they were drawing the 
H 
sam~ pay they ought to have been given an equal ranking. The apoointrnents 
of_ the appellants and other Panchayat Executive Officers 
were made 
before 
D_ecember 31, 1961 and as the integration was to take effect from January 1, 
,A 
B 
688 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[1977] 3 S.C.R. 
~ "" .... 
1962 they. cannot have any grievance. 
Further, the 
respondents 
were 
not 
equatt:d with the appellants . and other Panchayat Executive Officers when they 
were integrated from the Distnct Board Service. 
[690 F-G] 
CivIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : C. A. No. 1547 Of 1975. 
(Appeal by Special Leave from the Judgment and Order dated 
the 24-1-1974 of the Kerala High Court in O.P. No. 5566/72). 
Y. S. Chitale, A. S. Nambiar, for the appellant. 
K. T. Harindranath, K. R. Nambiar, for respondents Nos. 1, 3 and 
4. 
T. S. Krishnamoorthy Iyer, N. Sudhakaran, for respondents Nos. 
5 & 6. 
C 
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by 
D 
E 
F 
G 
H 
KAILASAM, J.-This appeal is by special leave granted by 
this 
Court against the judgment of the High Court of Kerala in 0.P. No. 
5566 of 1972 by respondents 4 to 8 and 13 before the High Court. 
The respondents herein filed the writ petition for the issue of the 
Writ of Certiorari calling for records relating to Ex. P-10, 
GO 
Kt. 
No. 3386/69/DD dated 23rd October, 1969, Ex. P!2

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