TMI Blog2000 (12) TMI 897X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e the High Court and the Service Tribunal, and over half a dozen visits to this Court did not finally conclude the pending dispute between the parties. Consequently, the seniority/gradation list of these officers could not be finalised and the respective seniority of the officers remained nebulous. Ad hoc promotions given on the basis of various interim arrangements added to the heartburn of the officers. Thus, even after a lapse of over four decades, the officers concerned are in the portals of this Court. Though in their judgments the tribunals and the courts have repeatedly blamed the State and the Central Government for the delay in finalising the seniority/gradation list, fact still remains that every attempt to finalise such list, though belatedly, could not succeed because of the intervening judicial orders. The blame for this protracted litigation should be shared by everyone concerned equally. It will be our endeavour in these appeals to finalise all the pending disputes between this group of litigants once and for all. For the purpose of disposal of these appeals, it may not be necessary for us to trace the history of this litigation in its entirety. Suffice it to say ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and submit its findings with reasons thereof to this Court within two months. As directed by this Court in the abovesaid decision, the Central Government after hearing the officers concerned submitted a report to this Court dated 10.7.1981 and after considering the said report, this Court took the view that the pending civil appeals could not be decided by it unless the parties concerned were given an opportunity of placing the respective contentions before the Administrative Tribunal and also came to the conclusion that since the tribunal while passing the impugned order, did not have the benefit of the finding of the Central Government, it felt that it could be eminently just and proper to set aside the judgment of the Administrative Tribunal dated 27.6.1986 and remand the matter to the said tribunal for fresh decision and while doing so this Court specifically stated that it was not expressing any opinion as to the correctness or otherwise of the finding reached by the Central Government or on the merits of the case or even on the judgment of the tribunal which was under appeal. It thus left to the tribunal to re-examine the correctness or otherwise of all issues including th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Subordinate Service Rules were a stop-gap and fortuitous arrangements, it is our opinion that the temporary appointments made before 1.11.1956 of only those officers who were not fully qualified for appointment by 1.11.1956 and in whose case, therefore, it would not have been possible for the State Government without relaxation of the rules relating to probation and length of service to make a reference to the Public Service Commission before 1.11.1956 for approval of their temporary appointments, should be treated as having been made as a stop-gap or fortuitous arrangement. We consider that the findings of the Central Government in this respect should be implemented with the modification that the services of those Andhra Officers who had satisfactorily completed their probation and also had the required length of service in lower rank before 1.11.1956 should not be treated as having been made as a stop-gap or fortuitous appointment even if the approval for the Public Service Commission had not been obtained in their case before 1.11.1956. The common gradation lists of Assistant Engineers, Executive Engineers and Superintending Engineers should be finalised on the basis of the Cen ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d the concerned authorities have subsequently examined the nature of service during the period in which a person held the appointment under the abovesaid Rule and have regularised such portions of their services as is considered by them to be neither stop-gap nor fortuitous. It also held that it is quite clear that the temporary appointment of Andhra officers before 1.11.1956 could not have been a part of stop gap or fortuitous arrangement because the arrangement was in most case, of a long term nature and that it is clear that the length of service put in by the Andhra officers in any category in consequence of the temporary appointments before 1.11.1956 cannot be summarily excluded for the purpose of counting the length of continuous service put in by them in that category as being made in a purely stop gap or fortuitous arrangement. It further held that in its opinion the temporary appointments of all Andhra officers who by 1.11.1956 had satisfied all the requirements of the Rules regarding compulsory completion of probation and completion of length of service in the lower rank have to be treated as not having been made as a stop gap or fortuitous arrangement. In regard to the e ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d against that decisions and the matter is pending in this Court. The question that arises for consideration now is whether the decision of 1982, which became final, should or should not be implemented. In the absence of any impediment in the matter of implementation of the 1982 decision, we see no reason why implementation should be delayed. After all the decision has become final and is binding on parties including the State Government. No contrary direction has been given by this Court in the other matter, which is still pending. In the circumstances, we do not want to entertain the special leave petitions and would like to reiterate that the decision of the Tribunal rendered in 1982 be enforced only subject to any other direction that may be given by this court while disposing of the pending matter. The State Government is directed to fully implement the order of 1982 as indicated above within a period of six months from today. We hope and trust that this order will be allowed to be implemented and no order may be made by any other court to restrain the implementation of this order. Thus, we notice that the order made by the tribunal in RP No.910/77 came to be approved by ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... been regularised at the time of merger, the said appointments were only temporary and fortuitous, hence they could not have been treated as permanent Engineers for which reliance was placed on Rules 10 and 39 of the abovesaid Rules. In the impugned judgment before us now, the tribunal came to the conclusion that the finding given by the earlier Bench in RP No.910/77 was only provisional, hence it proceeded to reconsider all those questions once again independently and came to the conclusion that the power conferred under Rules 10 and 39 of the Madras Rules is a power coupled with a duty to act reasonably and fairly on relevant material. It held that the said power cannot be exercised to alter the list of approved candidates prepared by the Public Service Commission for direct recruitment or even recruitment by transfer by giving any earlier date of commencement of probation to those lower in the ranking list. It also held that the said power cannot be exercised for affecting the rights of persons already on probation in the service. It reiterated that the power conferred on the Government cannot be exercised to give a date of commencement of probation without the existence of a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of PWD. It also directed that they should be paid all consequential monetary benefits with 10% interest on such amount payable. It also issued different directions in the connected matters based on its findings in the main matter. Being aggrieved by the said judgment of the tribunal dated 14.7.1985 made in R.P. No.2089/89 and other connected matters, the State of Andhra Pradesh has preferred the abovenoted civil appeals by leave of this Court. We have heard Shri P.P.Rao, learned Senior Advocate for the appellant, Shri Subodh Markandeya, learned senior Advocate for some of the contesting respondents, Shri K.Anant Reddy and some other respondents-in-person. We had permitted the parties to submit written submissions which have been filed. In the written submissions filed on behalf of the respondents appearing in person, a statement is made that they were not heard sufficiently by us. We must record that this statement is factually incorrect. After we heard the learned counsel for the appellant, we did hear the individual respondents-in-person to the extent we thought it necessary. It is only when we found that the arguments addressed were not to the point and there was digression, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ugned order was justified in reopening the question earlier decided by the tribunal in R.P.No.910/77, we will have to first decide the question whether the finding of the tribunal in R.P.910/77 was final or not, and if so, to what extent. In this process even at the cost of repetition, we will have to consider what exactly the tribunal in R.P.No.910/77 decided and what is the finding of the tribunal in the impugned order. The tribunal as per its earlier order in R.P.910/77 came to the specific conclusion that the temporary appointments of the Andhra Officers made before 1.11.1956 could not have been a part of stop-gap or fortuitous arrangement. It also held to so treat these appointments would be discriminatory merely because the State Government did not obtain the approval of the Public Service Commission for these appointments prior to 1.11.1956. Therefore, the tribunal in that case was of the final opinion that those temporary Andhra Officers who by 1.11.1956 satisfied all the requirements of the rules regarding completion of probation should be treated not as a stop-gap and fortuitous arrangement. The tribunal also held that it was satisfied that it would be perfectly in accord ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... finding of the tribunal was only provisional. We have already noticed that there is no room for coming to such conclusion and that the finding of the earlier Bench of the tribunal was a conclusive finding and what was said to be provisional in that judgment was only the question of applying the effects of the said retrospective regularisation while considering the allotment of seniority in the gradation list to be prepared. In other words, with reference to such Telangana Engineers who had not acquired any right to hold any particular post prior to 1.11.1956, they will be placed below the Andhra Engineers who got an earlier date of entry into service because of the retrospective regularisation. Therefore, in our opinion, the subsequent Bench of the tribunal could not have reopened the main judgment. question of retrospective regularisation by the impugned Consistency is the cornerstone of the administration of justice. It is consistency which creates confidence in the system and this consistency can never be achieved without respect to the rule of finality. It is with a view to achieve consistency in judicial pronouncements, the courts have evolved the rule of precedents, princi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... o purpose will be served by quashing the list, therefore, it directed the Government to treat the Telangana Engineers as seniors to the Andhra Engineers of the same cadre and issued a further direction to give these Telangana Engineers pro forma promotions at various stages which were given to their Andhra counterparts and then to pay all consequential monetary benefits with interest @ 10%. These directions, in our opinion, are without jurisdiction. Under the service conditions applicable to the respondents, there is no absolute right to them for promotion from stage to stage. They only had right to be considered for such promotion as and when a vacancy arose. Assuming for arguments sake that the tribunal in the impugned judgment was justified in holding that the respondents were entitled to seniority over their Andhra counterparts even then it could not have straightaway directed their promotion and granted them all consequential monetary benefits, that too with interest. This Court has held in a number of cases that the courts cannot issue a mandamus to promote. In the case of State of Mysore Anr. vs. P.N.Nanjundiah Anr. (1969 3 SCC 633), this Court held as follows: As to the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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