Holding

Rule 3(17) requiring five years of service for promotion to Junior Assistant prevails over Rule 4(2) and G.O.M. 627, rendering the petitioners ineligible for promotion.

Summary

The petitioners, children of deceased employees, were initially appointed on compassionate grounds and later regularized, after which they were promoted to Junior Assistant. A show‑cause notice was issued ordering their reversion because they had only about three years of service in the last grade, whereas promotion to Junior Assistant under the Andhra Pradesh Ministerial Service Rules, 1966 required five years. The petitioners contended that G.O.M. No. 627 reduced the required period to three years (minimum two) and that Rule 4(2) of the Rules applied. The Supreme Court held that Rule 3(17), inserted by G.O.M. No. 589 in 1986, expressly mandates a minimum of five years service for promotion to Junior Assistant and that G.O.M. 627 and Rule 4(2) pertain only to promotions within the same service, not to recruitment from a lower‑grade service. Consequently, the petitioners were not entitled to the benefit of the reduced service period and the order of reversion was upheld. The Special Leave Petitions were dismissed.

Issues considered

Whether the petitioners needed five years of service in the last grade for promotion to Junior Assistant under the Andhra Pradesh Ministerial Service Rules, 1966
Whether Rule 4(2) of the Rules or G.O.M. No. 627, which reduces the service requirement to three years, applies to the petitioners' promotion
Whether the specific amendment Rule 3(17) overrides the general ad‑hoc rule and Rule 4(2)

Subjects

promotionreversionminimum service periodJunior AssistantAndhra Pradeshgovernment orderSpecial Leave Petitionservice rules

Judgment

- V. SUBBA RAO AND OTHERS
v.
THE SECRETARY TO GOVT. PANCHAYAT RAJ AND RURAL
DEVELOPMENT, GOVERNMENT OF AP. AND OTHERS
A

FEBRUARY 27, 1996
B
(AM. AHMADI, CJ, SUJATA V. MANOHAR AND
K. VENKATASWAMI, JJ.)

Service Law :

Andhra Pradesh Ministerial Service Rules, 1966: Rules 3( 17) and 4.
c
Reversio1t-Employees holdingLast Grade Post-Promoted to the post
of Junior Assistants-Reverted to 01iginal posts on ground of non-completion
of 5 years service in last grade-Held: Rule 4(2) prescribing less than 5 years
se1vice in last grade for promotion within Ministerial Se1vice~Not ap- D
plicablt--R.ule 3(17) which prescdbes minimum five years of se1vice ap-
plicable-Hence reversion justified.

The petitioners were the children of deceased employees of the
respondents and were appointed on compassionate grounds under the E
quota for deceased employees' children on a consolidated pay. Sub-
sequently they were appointed as regular employees on a regular scale of
pay and were promoted to the post of Junior Assistants. A show-cause
notice was issued to them to show cause why they should not be reverted
to their Last Grade Post since five years' service in the Last Grade Post
was required for promotion to the post of Junior Assistant. They had F
worked only for about three years in the Last Grade Post. They submitted
their explanation and contended that for promotion to the post of Junior
Assistant, the minimum qualifying service was ordinarily three years and
in no case less than two years.

However, in view of the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Ministerial G
Service Rules, 1966 which required a minimum of five years service in the
Last Grade for promotion to the post of Junior Assistant the contentions
raised by the petitioners were rejected by the respondents and they were
reverted to their original posts. Being aggrieved by this order they filed
applications before the State Administrative Tribunal challenging their H
1081
·,
SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1996) 2 S.C.R.
)
1082

A order of reversion, which were dismissed. Aggrieved by the Tribunal's -4
judgment the petitioners preferred the present Special Leave petitions
contending that they were entitled to the benefit of Rule 4(2) or in the
alternative, to the benefit of G.O.M. No. 627.

Dismissing the petitions, this Court
B
HELD : 1.1. G.O.M. No. 627 deals only with promotions within the
service and transfers. It applies to a member of a service when he is
promoted from a lower post to a higher post in the same service. It does
not, however, deal with promotions/appointme~ts from a lower grade
C service to a post in a higher grade service. [1084-C; G]

1.2. In the present case, the petitioners have been promoted as
Junior Assistants. The post of Junior Assistant is governed by the Andhra
Pradesh Ministerial Service Rules, 1966. Rule 3(17) specifically prescribes
a minimum service of five years in the Last Grade Service for promotion
D to the post of Junior Assistants in the Ministerial Service. This Rule
applies to the petitioners. It is a later amendment which directly applies
to the post in question and must prevail over any general Ad hoc Rule
promulgated earlier. [1085-C; F-G]

1.3. Rule 4(2) which deals with promotion within the Ministerial
E Services if applicable for promotion from the lower category or post to the
next higher category or post. This Rule applies only to promotions within
the service, of members of the service and has no application to recruit-.
ments made under Rule 3. [1086-A; C-D]

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Special Leave Petition (C)
F
No. 9268-70of1994.

From the Judgment and Order dated 13.4.94 of the Andhra Pradesh
Administrative Tribunal, Hyderabad in OA Nos. 2582, 2686 and 2715 of
1993.
G
Rajiv Dhavan, R. Santhana Krishnan and KR. Nagaraja for the
Petitioners.

G. Prabhakar for the Respondents.

H The following Judgment. of the Court was delivered by
J; / , ' ~ , \
~.· ' ,_;. -

/ \-·
-·.' "-- .-- -- ·'· - -
. \. V.SUBBARAOv.OOVI'.PAN6J.AYATRAJ ANDRUR.ALDEV.[MitS.SUJATA V.MAN'OHAR.J.J 1083
-- ...... - ~
MRS. SUJATA V•.MANOHAR, 1'.' The petitioners wer~ originally 'A
0

•

employees of Zilla Praja Parishads of various Districts· in the State. of
Aridhra Pradesh. The petitioners are the children of deceased employees
of the res pendents. In or around December 1983 they were appointed by
the respondents on compassionate .grounds as Watchinen etc. under the
. quota for deceased employees' children on a consolidated pay. In Decem- . B
her 1988 they 'we~e appointed as regular employees )n the Zilla Praja
a
Parishad on regular scale of pay. In 1991-1992 they were promoted to
the post of Junior Assistants. · ·

· In April 1993 a show-cause notice was issued to., the petitioners to
show-cause why they should not be reverted to their Last'Grade Post sin.ce C
five years' service in the Last Grade Post is requiredfor promotion to the
post of Junior Assistant. The petitioners had worked forharilly three years ·
in the Last Grade Post. The petitioners submitted their explanation relying
upon G.O.Ms. No. 627 of 21st of Decembe~, 1983. They contended that for
.··promotion to the post of J uruor A5sisfal1t the minim uni qualifying service . D
was ordinarily three years and in no case less than two 'years.
-"
. .
In view, however, of the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Ministerial
·Ser.ice.Rules,·1966 .. as amended by·G.O.Ms; No~ 589, dated 19th of
November 1986, which requires a minimum of five ye~rs service in the Last ·
Grade for promotion to the post of Junior Assistant; the cont~ntions raised E
by. the petitioners were .rejected by the respondents ·i,y an order dated
295.1993 issued by respondent No. 2. The petitioners were reverted to
their original post. Being aggrieved by this order the petitioners filed
applications before the Andhra Pradesh Admini<trative ,Tribunal challeng- ·
'! ing their order of reversion. These applications have been dismissed by the F
Andhra Prad~sh Administrative Tribunal. The present petitions challenge
the order passed by the Andhra pradesh Administrative Tribunal.

· . The question is whether· the petitioners need to have five years'
service ,,S Watchmen, Attenders etc. forappointment as Junior Assistants.
.The petitioners have placed reliance on G.O.Ms. No. 627 dated 21st of G
December, 1983. This Government Order is issued by the General Ad-
ministration Department in connection with certain SpeciaVAd hoc Rules
relating to various State and Subordinate Services. It states that. in Spe-
ciaVAd hoc Rules relating to State and Subordinate Services a provision is
made to the effect that a member of the service should ordinarily put in a H

•
•
(

<
>
1084 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1996] 2 S.C.R.

A period of five years of service in the lower category from which promotion
is to .be made to the next higher category in the same senlice or when an
appointment .is to be made by transfer from any other seryice (underlining .
-
ours). The Government with a view to avoiding administrative· difficulties
had issued an Ad hoc Rule set out in G.O.Ms. No. 85 dat~d 12.2.1979
B reducing "ordinarily five years in the lower category" to three years of which
at least two years' service was required to be in the category, class or grade
from which promotion was to be made. As the wording of the Rule was
considered defec:tive, it was decided to make a fresh Ad hoc Rule in its
place. Accordingly a Notification (G.O.Ms. No.627) was issued on
21.12.1983 framing an Ad hoc Rule superseding the earlier Ad ho.c Rule
C issued in G.O.Ms. No. 85 dated 12th of February, 1979. The new Ad hoc
Rule was deemed to have come into force on 12th of February, 1979. It is
to the following effect :-

"Notwithstanding anything contained in the relevant Special Rules
or the Ad/we rules for the State and Subordinate Service, the
D minimum period of "Ordinarily five years of service" wherever
prescribed in the said Rules for appointment of a member of service
from the lower categ01y, class or grade, to the next higher category,
class or grade whether such appointment is made either by promo-
tion in the regular line or by recrnitment by transfer from any other
E se1vice, that period shall be reduced to "ordinarily three years, but
in no case shall it be less than two years, in the category, class or
grade from which such promotion or transfer is made".

(underlining ours)

F (N.B.: The comma after the phrase "less than two years" has been
added by an amendment made in 1989 to clarify the position)

The Ad hoc rule deals only with promotions within the Service and
transfers. It applies to a member of a Service when he is promoted from a
G lower post to a higher post in the same Service. It also applies when the
appointment is by transfer from another Service. It doe~ not, however; deal
with promotions/appointments from a lower grade Service to a post in a
higher grade Service.

The Ad hoc Rule which replaces the Ad hoc Rule framed in 1979
H was promulgated to overcome administrative difficulties. These administra-
J
' V. SUBBARAO v. GOVT. PANCHAYATRAJ AND RURAL DEV. (MRS. SUJATA V. MANOHAR, J.J 1085

tive difficulties have been spelt out in G.0.Ms. No. 85of12.2.1979. It states A
that persons satisfying five years of service are not available and hence to
avoid administrative difficulties and disputes it has been decided to reduce
the existing period of five years' service to three years' service of which
there should be service of a minimum period of two years in the class,
category or grade from which promotion is made to the next higher B
category.

In the present case, the petitioners have been promoted as Junior
Assistants. The post of Junior Assistant is governed by the Andhra Pradesh
Ministerial Service Rules of 1966. Under rule 1 of the Andhra Pradesh
Ministerial Service Rules, 1966 the composition of the Ministerial Service C
is set out. It consists of the categories of posts which are set out in that
. Rule. Category 10 consists of Junior Assistants in the offices of the Heads
of the Departments and Directorates; while category 11 includes Junior
Assistants in Subordinate Offices.

Rule 3 of these Rules deals with the method of recruitment to the D
various categories of posts enumerated in Rule 1. It also prescribes the
necessary qualifications for recruitment and promotion. By G.O. Ms. No.
589 of 19.11.1986 Rule 3 was amended by the insertion of Sub-rule (17)
which is as follows :
E
"Rule 3(17) :

33.3% of the posts of Junior Assistants in Panchayati Raj Bodies
are reserved for Record Assistants, Attenders and other equivalent
categories who possess minimum general educational qualification F
and who have put in minimum service of five years in -that categ01y."

This is a specific Rule inserted in the Andhra Pradesh Ministerial Services
Rules, 1966 by an amendment made on 19th of November, 1986, much later
than the formulation of the Ad hoc Rule of 1983. This Rule specifically
prescribes a minimum service of five years in the Last Grade Service as G
Record Assistants, Attenders and the like for promotion to the post of
junior Assistants in the Ministerial Service. This Rule applies to the
petitioners. It is a later amendment which directly applies to the post in
question and must prevail over any general Ad hoc Rule promulgated
earlier. H
(/
l
1086 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1996] 2 S.C.R. \

A ·Rule 4(2) of the Andhra Pradesh Ministerial Service Rules which
deals with promotion within the Ministerial Services, provides that "no
member of the service shal~ on or after 12th of February, 1979, be eligible
for promotion from the lower category or post to the next higher category
or post unless he has ordinarily put in a service for a minimum period of
B three years in the category from which he is to be promoted but in no case
shall it be ,less than two years in the category from which such promotion
is made". This Sub-rule (2) has a clear nexus with G.O.Ms. No. 85 of 12.2.
1979 jind the subsequent GD.Ms. No. 627 of 21.12.1983, both of which
came into effect from 12th of February, 1979. Rule 4(2) which was brought
C in by G.0.Ms. No. 189 of 22.3.1984 thus appears to have incorporated the
Ad hoc Rule set out in G.O.Ms. No. 627 of 1983 in the Andhra Pradesh
Ministerial Service Rules. This clearly indicates that G.O.Ms. No. 85 dated
12th February, 1979 and the subsequent G.O.Ms. No. 627 dated 21st of
December, 1983 apply only to promotions within the Service, of members
of the Service. This Rule has no application to recruitments made under
D Rule 3 when they are not by promotion under Rule 4 but by promotion
from other lower grade Services. Rule 3(17) provides for recruitment to
33.3% of the post of Junior Assistants in Panchayati Raj Bodies from
Record Assistants, Attenders and other equivalent categories in the lower
grade service who have put in a ininimum service of five years in that
E category. Rule 4(2) does not apply to such recruitment.

In fact, in Rule 3, wherever in any category of posts, there is a
pr.ovision for promotion under Rule 4, it is expressly so mentioned. For
example, Rules 3(1) first part, 3(2) and 3(11) are as follows :
F
"Rule 3: Method of Recrnitment - Special:

(1) : Besides promotion as provided in Rule 4, the first vacancy
out of every eight successive clear vacancies excluding leave vacan-
cies of Superintendents in the Offices of the Heads of Departments
G and Directorates shall, on or after 23rd December, 1980, be
reserved to be filled by transfer of Superintendents, Managers or
Head Clerks working in the Subordinate Offices under the ad-
ministrative control of the concerned Head of the Department or
the· Directorate, as the case may be, or for special reasons from
H any other service or from any other Department in this service. ·
V. SUBBARAO v. GOVf. PANCHAYATRAJ AND RURAL DEV. [MRS. SUJATA V. MANOHAR, J.) 1087

A

-- 3(2) : Besides promotion as provided in Rule 4, the first vacancy
out of every four successive clear vacancies, of Senior Assistants
in the Offices of Heads of Departments and Directorates shall be
reserved to be filled only from among suitable Senior Assistants,
working in the Subordinate Offices of the concerned Head of the B

- Department or the Directorate. If any person so appointed by
transfer suffers reversion, he shall be reverted to his parent office
or Department :

c
3(11) : Besides promotion as provided in Rule 4, appointment to
the post of store-keeper in the Information and Public Relations
Department shall be made by direct recruitment if no suitable
candidate is available for appointment by recruitment by promo-
tion or by transfer."
D
Rule 4 is not mentioned in respect of recruitment to the post of
Junior Assistants. The contention, therefore, of the petitioners that they
are entitled to the benefit of Rule 4(2) or in the alternative, to the benefit
of the G.O.Ms. No. 627 dated 21st of December, 1983, cannot be accepted.
Thus we uphold the conclusion of the Tribunal. E
In the premises, the special leave petitions are dismissed. In the
circumstances, there will be no order as to costs.

v.s.s. Petitions dismissed.
F