LexSTATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH AND ANR. versus K.S. MURALIDHAR AND ORS.
Open in Lexace · Ask the AI about this caseJudgment (excerpt)
STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH AND ANR.
A
v.
K.S. MURALIDHAR AND ORS.
JANUARY 22, 1992
[LALIT MOHAN SHARMA AND K. JAY ACHANDRA
B
REDDY, JJ.]
Civil Services:
A.P. Engineering Subordinate Service Rules:
"-,
Seniority-{Jovernment orders issued from time to time~S'upervisors
upgraded as Junior Engineers ·on acquiring degree-Degree holders di-
rectly appointed as Junior Engineers on temporary basis~egularisation
of-Weightage given IO both categories for service rendered-Jnter--se
seniority-Fixation of-Directions issued.
The A.P. Engineering Subordinate Service Rules were amended
in 1972 by way of Government order. It provided that supervisors
who acquired B.E./A.M.I.E. degree while in service would be en-
titled to count 50% of the service rendered as Supervisors prior to
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. acquiring the said qualification subject to a maximum of four years.
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·However, this was subject to certain conditions, the Chief among
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them was that they should be considered to have been placed below
the last of the Junior Engineer of the year, after giving such weightage.
Order dated 10.6. 76 required that the Supervisors who acquire the
degree qualification while in service should be appointed, as Junior
Engineers with immediate effect. The abovesaid order was amended
on 8,11.76 giving benefit of the weightage to only those who ac-
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quired the degree qualification prior to 28.2.72.
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In 1977, by another order of the State Government, the post of
Junior Engineer was made Gazetted post.
In separate petitions before the Andhra Pradesh Administra-
.tive Tribunal, the Supervisors upgraded as Junior Engineers in-
cluding those who acquired the degree qualification after 28.2.72, as
well as the State of A.P. agitated the issue regarding inter-se senior-
ity between the upgraded Junior Engineers and the direct recruit
Junior Engineers. The Tribunal heard all the matters together and
gave a find,ing that there was no bar to the retrospective regularisa-
295
G
H.
296
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1992) I S.C.R.
A
tion of the directly recruited Engineers from the dates of their ini-
tial appointments. The Tribunal also upheld the actien of the Gov-
ernment in giving the benefit of the notional date of appointment to
the upgraded Junior Engineers and the benefit of the date of regu-
larisation of thier services from the dates of thier notional appoint-
ments subject to maintenance of order or ranking given by the Pub-
B
lie Service Commission. The Tribunal also ordered that the ranking
given by the Public Service Commission in respect of directly re-
cruited Junior Engineers has to be mainta.ined and each of them
would be entitled to count his seniority from the date on which his
service has been regularised or from the date of regularisation of
the service of the person immediately below in the order of ranking
C given by the Public Service Commission, whichever was earlier.
In respect of upgraded Junior Engineers who acquired degree
qualification after 28.2.1972, the Tribunal gave a specific direction
that their seniority has to be fixed on the basis of specific notional
date of appointment given to them by interspersing their names
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among regular Junior Engineers as arranged in chronological order
of dates from which such regular Junior Engineers ••0 entitled to
count their seniority.
Aggrieved against the Tribunal's order, the State Government
and the Supervisors upgraded as Junior Engineers, nreferred the
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present appeals.
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G
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On behalf of the State, it was contended that the direction of
the Tribunal particularly interspersing was not workable, since the
upgraded Junior Engineers have put in long years of service and
were discharging the same duties as the directly recruited Junior
Engineers and this factor should be taken into account in fixing the
notional date of appointment aild inter-se seniority.
On behalf of the upgraded Junior Engineers, it was contended
that in G.O. Ms No.559 it is specifically laid down that Supervisors
who have acquired graduate qualification may be appointed as Jun-
ior Engineers after 28.2.75 and the weightage of four years should
he reckoned from the dale of acquiring the degree qualification i.e.
28.2. 72 or thereafter; and their seniority should not he fixed from
the date of the order of appoitment.
On the other hand, the direct recruit Junior Engineers con-
tended that the upgraded Junior Engineers can under no circu·m-
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