The High Court · 2025

Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit fired therewith, the High court may be ..RESPONDENTS , pleased to issue a v'rit of mandamus or any other appropriatr writ' order or direction. Declaring the Proceedings bearing Rc No Gllt'12t2020 dated o2l12t2)2} issued bV tht: 5th Respondent and Proceedings Lrearlrlg Rc- No. A114412017, dated 2l .o9 2O2O issued by the 4th Respondent ils b':ing illegal, arbitrary, unconstituti)nal in violation of the principles of natural justice, in violation of the provis ions of the Telangana Village Revenue Assistant service Rules 2005 and in vic taticn of the Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of india and consequently to set aside the same l) Declaring the Proc,:edirrgs bearing A7t4273t2OOg dated 23r03t2018 issued by Respondent No 3 d recting the termination of the service of the Petitioners and limiting the arlears of salaries payable to them only upto 30tO4t2O12, even when a policy decisron c,n the issue of ratification/reg u Ia ri,:atio n of their appointment is pending before Respondents No. 1 and 2 as be ng illegal, arbitrary, u nconstitutional, in violation of the principles of natural juslice and in violation of Articles 14 and 2-1 of the constitution of lndia ano consequently to set aside the same ll) Dt:claring the inaction on the part of Respondents No. 'l and 2 in failing to ta[.e a decision on the issue of ratifica tion/rerg u la rization of the appointment of thr> Petitioners as Village Revenue Assrstants right from the year 2010 as being llegzrl, arbitrary, u nconstitution a l, in ablication of their duty and in violation of Articles 14 and 21 o1 the constitution of lnc ia a rd consequently to direct the Respondernf s, l\o- 1 and 2 to take a decision on lhe r;aid issue forthwith and lll) consequen ly, to permit the Petitioners to continu,: wc,rking in the post of Village Revenue l,ssis:ant with all consequential benefitr; til the above issue is resolved by ResponCent; No. 1 and 2 and also to direct :he respondents to pay arrears of salary/trono'arium from 301412012 till date lA NO: 2 OF 2021 Petition under {}ection 151 CPC praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed in s upp,rrt of the petition, the High court ma'r be pleased to suspend the Proceedings bearing Rc. No.G/14'1212020 dated 021121L',.020 issued by the 5th Respon,Jent Proceedings bearing Rc. No Al14412)17, daled 23lOgt2O2O issued by the 4th Respondent and Procet-'dingls bearing A7 t4273t2oog dated '.'.31O3t201 B issued by Respondent No. 3 arrd consequently permit the Petitioners to continue working Assistant with all conseguential benefits. in the post of Village Revenue lA NO: 1 OF 2021 Petition under section '151 cpc praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit fired in support of the petition, the High. court may be preased to direct the Respondents No. 1 and 2 to forthwith take a decision on the issue of ratificationkeg urarization of the appointment of the petitioners to the post of Village Revenue Assistant by dury considering the recommendations of the Respondent No.3 in his retter dated 17t11t2011 and 1sto2t2o12 issued to the Respondent No. 2. Counsel for the Petitioner : SRI SRIRAM POLALI Counsel for the Respondents: Gp FOR SERVICES I The Court made the following: ORDER l I 1 i i :-) HON,RLE MRS JUSTICE SUREPALLI NAND'd WRIT PETIT IO NNO .2205 oF 202L o DER: Heard Sri Sriram Polali, learned ':ounsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners and the learned Assistant Government Pleader for Services-I' appearing on behalf of the respondents'

2. The petit ioners aDDro the C rt SeslgE-s praver as u ng[gr: '...to issue a writ of mandamus or any ot.h :r appropriate writ, order or direction: t)ec aring the Proceedlngs bearing Rc. \o.C;/1412 / 2O2O dated 02'12.2020. issued by the 5'h Respondent and Proceedings bez ring Rc. No.A/144l2017, dated 23.O9.2020 issued l)y the 4th Respondent as being illegal, a,'bitrary, u nconstitution a l, in violation of the prirrcipl:s of natural justice, in violation of the prcvisrc,ns of the Telangana Village Revenue Ass istant Service Rules 2005 and in violation of :he Articles 74 and 2l of the Constitution of India and consequently to set aside the sarle; )ec laring the Proceedings bearing A7'427312OO9 dated 23.03.2018 issued by Rer;pondent No. 3 directing the termination of th€ service of the Petitioners and limiting the arT3ars of salaries payable to them only uptc , { .l 2 SN,J W.P.No.22O5 of 2O21

30.O4.2012, even when a policy decision on the issue of ratification/reg ula rization of their appointment is pending before Respondents No.1 and 2 as being illegal, arbitrary, u nconstitutiona l, in violation of the principles of natural justice and in violation of Articles 74 and 21 of the Constitution of India and consequently to set aside the same; Declaring the inaction on the part of Respondents No. 1 and 2 in failing to take a decision on the issue of ratification/ regularization of the appointment of the Petitioners as Village Revenue Assistants right from the year 2010 as being illegal, arbitra-ry, u n constitutiona l, in abdication of their duty and in violation of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India and consequenfly to direct the Respondents No. 1 and 2 to take a decision on the said issue forthwith; and Consequenuy, to permit the petitioners to continue working in the post of Village Revenue Assistant with all consequentll benefits till the above issue is resolved by Respondents No.1 and 2 and also to direct the respondents to pay arrears of sa la rylhonora riu m from 30.4.2012 till date and pass such other order or. orders as this Hon'ble Court deems fit in the facts and circumstances of the case.,, )J It is specific case of the petitioners that the petitioners were appointed as Village Revenue Assistants by Respondent Nos. 4 & 5. In the year 2010, Respondent no 3 abruptly terminated the services of some VRAS on the ground that all the appointments made to the post of VRA 3 SN,J w.P.No.2205 of 2021 after 2OO2 were without the prior sanction of the government. Lat,3r, the village servants association marle a representaticn tO the Respondent No. 1 seeking ratification of the appoirltments of VRAs. Respondent no. 1 forwarded the said rel)res,3ntation to respondent 2 & 3 tl rrrake detailed report ()n the subject matter. Responder t no. 3 made a deta lec report and submitted to the respordent by recommendirrg the respondent no. 1 to ratify the appointment of \/RAs and also to pay the honorariurn salary for their services. VRAs approached the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh Adrrinis':rative Tribunal filing O.A.No.9350 r>f 2011, O.A.No.9351 of 2011 and O.A.No.9391 of 2011, seeking a declaration that -heir apoointment is regular and a rjirection not to terminate their service and pay salary. The hort'ble APAT passed an interim order in the above said applications directing the.resrondents to continue the applicants therein as VRAS an 1 pay salaries to them until Further orders, subsequently on 02.01.2012 APAT made the interinr orrlers absolute but the same was suspended by this court thrcugh a writ petit on W. P. No.B702 of 2074 preferred by the Respondent No 3. Thereafter, Hon'ble APAT dispcsed the O.A.No.9391 of ,1011 stating that the issue of legality of the , 4 w.P.No.z20s of #,i appointments and continuation of services of the applicants was to be determined by the authorities as per rures. To comply with the orders of ApAT in O.A.No.9391 of 2077, respondent no. 3 ordered the respondent nos. 4&5 to submit the working days served by the VRAs for the purpose of paying the sarary to the vRAs. Foilowing the order the respondent no 4&5 submitted a report to respondent no 3 saying that the service of the VRAS under their jurisdiction were deemed to be terminated from 31.01.2072. The specific grievance of the petitioners is that the respondent no. 1 is not taking any poricy decision with regard to the ratiFication of appointment of VRAs and respondent no 4&5 submitted that the services of the VRAs were to be terminated from 3L.0I.20L2. Hence, the present writ petitioners approached this court through the wrongly deemed petition.

3. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners submits that the impugned order dated 23.03.2018 issued by the respondent No.3 terminating the service of the petitioners and few others had been challenged by few others vide W.p.Nos.3t901 of 2018 and 30975 of 2023 and Yi), r , &{ ! 5 sN,l W.P.No. 2205 rrf 2021 this Court, r'ide its orders dated 03.10.2r)23 and

22.01.202.5, allr:wed the said writ petitions. PERUSED TIHE RECORD: 4, The learned counsel appearinq on beha !I-otlhe Detitioners olaced on record the order of tltis Court dated 03.1O.2O23 oassed in W.P -No.319O1 of 2O18 and the relevant paraqraph Nos.12 to 14 of the said order are eu nde r: "12. The material documents filed ttlonil with :he c()unter affidavit filed by respondent No.:- clearly indicates that the petitioners had been paid honorariunr for the working period fronr 31.01.:1009 to 30.04.2012 and thereaFter payrnenl of honorarium had been stopped. But how,tver, they a-e ,ioing service voluntarily in assistingt thir VRO c()ncerned without honorarium. These dt:tail:; find place in proceedings No.A/335/2018 c'ated 20.11..101t] of Tahsildar, Narayanapet, addressed to the District Collector, Mahabubnagar in re:;pec: of five VtlAs. This Court opines that the 1s': respon,lent though called for detailed reports front the Tarsilclars concerned vide proceedings catecl 19.01..1017 vide No.A7/4273/2009 did nol. examine the same in detail and however passecl orders rnpugned dated 23.03.2018 vider 5 sN,J W.P.No.2205 of 2O2t F No.A7/4273/2009 stating that the proposals received from the Tahsildars concerned in Mahabubnagar District had been examined, further observed that the services of the petitioners are deemed to be terminated after 30.04.2012 without assigning any reasons, without giving notice to the petitioners, without any discussion on the subject issue, clearly holding that the petitioners had been terminated after 30.04.2012 vide impugned proceedings dated 23.03.2018 which is admittedly retrospective in operation. T ts Cou rt D ines th tth 1"t res ondent has no w rto ass u ne or rm kin it etr ODerative.

13. The Apex Court in the Judgment dated 03.03.2014 reported in (2Ot4) t2 Supreme Court Cases, 1O6 in -STATE BANK OF PATIALA AND ANOTEHR v. RAM NIWAS BANSAL (DEAD) THROUGH LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES,, very clearly observed that the dismissal order cannot be made retrospectively operative.

14. Taking into consideration the a bove refgrred facts and circumstances, the writ petition is allowed as prayed for. The impugned order dated 23.03.2018 issued by the 1st respondent is set aside. However, there shall be no order as to costs. " I 1 liN,J W.P.No-22C 5 of 2 O21 5 The le p etitioners il lso, iIl c r nr ord the -gf-the rder,rf this Court dated 22 .o1.202 2023an t elevant paraqraoh Nos.4, 5 ancl-5-a-rg edinW P.No. o'975 of extract ed hereu n der: "4) When the matter is taken uP for hearing, the learned counsel for the petitioners tlas submitted thal the lis raised in the present V/rit Petition is squarely covered by the order dated 03.10.2C23 passed in W'P' No.31901 of 20lB' Learned counsel has Further submitted that si lce VRA Sys':em is abolished, suitable direction may be given to the respondents to take appropriate decision on l:he re-engagement of the petitioner:;' 5) 1'he above made submission disputed blu the learned Government appearir g fcr the respondents' is not Pleader 6,) In view of the above and for the reasons alike in the order dated O3'1O'2O23 passed in W.P. No.31901 of 2OL8t the impugned bearing No.A7 / 4273/2OOg, dated 23.O3.2OL8, issr'red by respondent No.3 is set aside, insofar as the petitioners are concerned, and respondent No.1 is directed to appropriate decision on the re-engagement of Proceedings r! SN,J W.P,No.2205 of 2O21 ( the petitioners, in accordance with law, as expeditiously as possible. preferably, within a period of eight weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order,,

6. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitibners submits that the subject issue in the present writ petition is squarely covered by the order of this Court dated 03.10.2023 passed in W.p.No.31901 of 2018, which had been implemented in respect of the petitioners in W.P.No.31901 of 2018 and also the order of this Court dated 22.0L2025 passed in W.p.No.30 975 of 2023. 7. Learned Assistant Government pleader for Services-I does not dispute the said submissions made by the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners. 8,7 aki nqi nto consid eratron: a) The aforesaid facts and circumstances of the case, b) The submissions made by the tearned counser appearing on beharf of the petitioners and the learned Assistant Government pleader for Services_f appearing on behalf of the respondents, l t / t I 9 sN,l W.P.No.22 05 of 2021 c) The Order of this Court dated O3'10'2023 passed in W.P.No.31901 of 2O18 and' d) r-he Order of this Court dated 22'oa'2o25 passed in W'P'No.3O97S ol 2023' is allowe,d. The proceedings The Present writ Petition No.A7 /421'3/V-OO9 impugned Proceedings bearing dated 23'03.2O18 issued by the respondent No'3 in the petitioners herein alld the respect ,lf bearing consequential Rc.No.A/14 4l2Ot7t dated 23'O9'2O2O issuecl bv the respondent No.4 and atso the proceedings bearring No' G/L4l2l2O2O dated O2'L2'2O2O issued bv the respondent No.5 are set aside' The responde'nt Nos'1 & 2 are lirected to consider and take apl'ropriate decisionprertainingtoissuanceofapproprial:eorders for ratification/regularization of the pr:titioners appointments w'e'f' 2010 as Village Revenue Assistants and for payment of arl'ears of Salary/H<rnororium from 3C.'O4'2OL2 till date in accordan.:etolawinconformitywithprilrciplesof natural justice as expeditiously as possible within a I r 10 sN,J W.P,No.22OS of 202I period of eight (O8) weeks from the date of receipt of copy of the order. However, there shail be no order as to costs. As a sequel, the miscellaneous petitions, if any, pending in the Writ petition shall also stand closed. //TRUE COPY// SD/-K. SRE E RAMA MURTHY DEP UTY REGISTRAR SECTI ON OFFICER To, Bhavan, State of Telangana' Hyderabad NamPallY Station Road, Abids, HYderabad - 500001 l The SPl. Chief Secretary to Government, Revenu Department, BRKR 2 The Chief Commts sioner of Land Ad mrnistration, Opposite Annapurna Hotel' 3. The District Collector' Mahabubnagar' Office of the Collectorate' 4' The Mandal Revenue officer, Maganoor Mandal, Narayanpet District 5. The Mandal Revenue Officer' Manapad Mandal' Jogulamba Gadwal District 6. One CC to SRI SRIRAM POLALI' Advocate lOPUCl 7, Two CCs to GP FoR SERVICES l, High Court for the State of Telangana. Mahabubnagar B. Two CD CoPies BSK BS (. ,,:. --: HIGH COURT DATED:1710312025 CC TODAY I iil! i'j', 1:\i r{E SIAI c 6( 1 APH 2M5 2 L)Ii .,- t..:\ lL:,lprJC r..0 * ORDER WP.No.2205 af 2021 ALLOWING THE WRIT PETITION WITHOUT COST.S ,u 4A 1/ /+ /2 5