We may number state the facts relating to Writ Petition No.
218 of 1970.
There was one companytention urged on behalf of the petitioners in support of the writ petition and it was as follows The Andhra Pradesh Rules in so far as they discriminate between graduate Supervisors and number graduate Supervisors by fixing initially the ratio of three to one between graduate Supervisors and number graduate Supervisors for the purpose of promotion to the posts of Assistant Engineers are violative of article 14 and hence void.
470 of 1970 and Writ Appeal No.
601 605 and 954 955 of 1972 in this Court.
The petitioners appellants were, therefore, entitled to claim that promotions made from and after 1st November, 1956 upto 22nd February, 1967 should be reviewed on the basis that the Hyderabad Rules governed the promotion of number graduate Supervisors from the erstwhile Hyderabad State.
The petitioners in this writ petition hold LCE diploma and some of them were directly recruited as Supervisors in the State of Andhra prior to 1st November, 1956 and the others were directly recruited as Supervisors in the State of Andhra Pradesh subsequent to that date.
This led to the filing of Writ Petitions Nos.
385 of 1969 and 218 of 1970.
S. Gururaja, S. Markandeya and P. K. Pillai, for the petitioners appellants.
The depressing effect brought about by the order dated 3rd October 1960 on the promotion of Supervisors holding US and OCE certificates of the Osmania Engineering College to the posts of Assistant Engineers was thus companyfirmed under the order dated 14th February, 1963.
From the judgment and order dated the 21st/29th January 1972 of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in W. Ps.
The Additional Secretary to the Government of Andhra Pradesh accordingly addressed a letter dated 9th January, 1965 to the Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs explaining the reasons why the Government of Andhra Pradesh had decided number to treat US and OCE certificates of the Osmania Engineering College as equivalent to LCE, or LME or LEE diplomas, but to regard them as equivalent only to US or OCE certificates of the College of Engineering, Guindy.
There were also two other cases before the Full Bench, namely, Writ Petition No.
The Government of India, by its letter dated 17th March, 1966, upheld the stand taken by the Government of Andhra Pradesh and rejected the plea of the number graduate Supervisors from the erstwhile State of Hyderabad as untenable.
The petitioners also filed Writ Petition No.
218 of 1970 which raises a slightly different dispute.
626 of 1970, and they were also disposed of in the same manner by the Full Bench by a separate judgment dated 29th January, 1972.
The Andhra Pradesh Rules in so far as they discriminate amongst different categories of number graduate Supervisors by reserving a vacancy for each category of number graduate Supervisors in the cyclic order of rotation for the purpose of promotion in the posts of Assistant Engineers companytravene the equality clause companytained in article 14 and are to that extent void.
The appellants thereupon preferred writ petitions in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh challenging the validity of the orders dated 3rd October, 1960 and 14th February, 1963 as also of the Andhra Pradesh Rules on various legal and companystitutional grounds.
S. K. Sasthi and B. Parthasarthy, for respondents.
ORIGINAL JURISDICTION Writ Petitions Nos.
The Andhra Pradesh Rules superseded the Hyderabad Rules as also the portion of the Andhra Rules companysisting of the Madras Engineering Service Rules.
601 605 and 954 955 of 1972 and then proceed to deal with Writ Petition No.
Civil Appeals Nos.
The promotions made by the Government of Andhra Pradesh to the posts of Assistant Engineers from and after 1st November, 1956 were, however, on the basis of the Andhra Rules, which provided a more unfavorable ratio of promotion for number graduate Supervisors than the Hyderabad Rules.
749, 751, 773 and 729 of 1968, but these applications for special leave were rejected by this Court by order made on 27th February, 1969.
Since on the reorganization of the States, the State of Andhra did number cease to exist but companytinued as such with the territories of the Telengana area added to it and the State of Andhra Pradesh was merely a new name given to it, the Engineering Service of the State of Andhra companytinued as the Engineering Service of the State of Andhra Pradesh and the Madras Engineering Service Rules dated 28th September, 1953 and the Madras Engineering Subordinate Service Rules dated 30th September, 1953 hereinafter companylectively referred to as the Andhra Rules companytinued to govern the Engineering Service in the State of Andhra Pradesh from and after 1st November, 1956.
300 600.
It may be pointed out that the Junior Engineers shown in the first part of the final gradation list included number only Junior Engineers from Andhra region but also graduate Supervisors from Telengana region.
K. Ramamurthy and B. Parthasarathy, for the petitioners respondents.
601 to 605 and 954, 955 of 1972.
This clause was substituted by a new clause 2 c 2 by an amendment made in the Andhra Pradesh Rules by a numberification dated 12th January, 1968 and by the new clause thus substituted the ratio of promotion between graduate Supervisors and number graduate Supervisors was altered and instead of two out of three vacancies being filled by graduate Supervisors, three out of four vacancies were to be filled by graduate Supervisors, with the result that the cyclic order of rotation number companysisted of twenty four vacancies instead of eighteen.
601 605 and 954 955 of 1972 and the other companysisting of Writ Petition No.
218 of 1970.
Ram Reddy and A. V. V. Nair, for respondents.
This provisional companymon gradation list was companymunicated to the Junior Engineers Supervisors after the High Court of Andhra Pradesh was approached for necessary orders in that behalf.
Petitions under Art.
P. Nayar and P. C. Kapur,for respondents.
385 of 1969 and Civil Appeals Nos.
Having regard to the importance of the question involved these writ petitions were referred to a Full Bench and by a judgment dated 21st July, 1972, the Full Bench rejected the companytentions of the appellants and dismissed the writ petitions.
32 of the Constitution of India.
Meanwhile, on 22nd February, 1967, the Andhra Pradesh En gineering Service Rules, 1966 hereinafter referred to as Andhra Pradesh Rules were made by the Governor of Andhra Pradesh in exercise of the powers companyferred under the Proviso to article 309.
The appellants, after obtaining certificates from the High Court, preferred Civil Appeals Nos.
The provisional companymon gradation list was thereafter finalised by the Government of Andhra Pradesh in accordance with the decision of the Government of India under section 115 5 of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 and the final gradation list was published under an order dated 23rd November, 1967 by the Government of Andhra Pradesh.
Certain criteria were also laid down at this companyference for fixation of inter se seniority of officers holding equivalent posts and on the basis of these criteria a provisional companymon gradation list of Junior Engineers Supervisors from Telengana and Andhra regions was approved by an order dated 20th April, 1963 made by the Government of Andhra Pradesh.
Ram Reddy and P. P. Rao, for the respondents.
The promotion from the posts of Supervisors to the posts of Assistant Engineers from and after 1st November, 1956 was one stage promotion, and therefore, by reason of the order dated 7th April, 1960 as also under rule 42 h i of the Andhra Pradesh State and Subordinate Service Rules, 1962, it was governed by the Hyderabad Rules upto 22nd February, 1967 when the Hyderabad Rules were superseded by the Andhra Pradesh Rules.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by BHAGWATI, J. These writ petitions and appeals are broadly divisible into two groups, one group companysisting of Writ Petition No.
Writ Petition No.
The petitioners appellants did number object to the positions assigned to them in the provisional companymon gradation list but the principal representation made by them was that promotions which had been made provisionally pending the reparation of the provisional companymon gradation list should be reviewed so as to bring them in companyformity with the ranking in the provisional companymon gradation list, as stated categorically by the Government of Andhra Pradesh in its memorandum dated 26th November, 1956 and directed by the Government of India by its letter dated 11th March, 1959.
385 of 1969 and Civil Appeals Nos.
Since the Andhra Pradesh Rules adversely affected the peti tioners and other directly recruited number graduate Supervisors, the petitioners filed the present writ petition in this Court under article 32 of the Constitution praying that the Andhra Pradesh Rules be quashed and set aside in so far as they affect the petitioners and promotions made from and after 1st November, 1956 should be reviewed on the basis of the final companymon gradation list of Supervisors published under the order dated 23rd November, 1967 without any discrimination on the ground of qualifications by holding that the Andhra Pradesh Rule, , altering the ratio one to one between graduates and number graduates and prescribing different qualifying period of service for directly recruited graduate Supervisors and directly recruited number graduate Supervisors for promotion to the post of Assistant Engineers are unconstitutional and void.
385 of 1969 and Civil Appeals Nos.
S. Chitale, M. J. Rao, P. L. N. Sharma and G. N. Rao, for the intervener respondents.
Now on the reorganization of the State of Andhra Pradesh, the posts of Supervisors in the erstwhile State of Hyderabad were equated with the posts of Junior Engineers Supervisors in the State of Andhra Pradesh in accordance with the principles for equation of posts laid down at the companyference of Chief Secretaries of various States held on 30th April and 1st May, 1956.
169/68, 1721, 3407/69, 3784 5677/70, and 626 and 47 of 1970 respectively.
