The High Court · 2025

L. Srinivas S/o. Unknown, Aged about 56 years, Occ Assistant Director, O/o. Chief Planning Officer in Jan-gaon District, Janagaon District - 506167. S. Laxman S/o- Unknown, Aged about 60 years, Occ Assistant Director / Chief Planning Officer, O/o. lntegrated District Offices Complex, Jogulamba Gadwal District - 509125. D.V-D. Nandini, D/o. Unknown, Aged about 59 years, Occ Assistant Director, O/o. Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Ganaka Bhavan, Khairathabad, Hyderabad - 500004. L (As per Or,rL1 Order, dated 23-09-2024- vide l.A No 2 of 2024 in W.P.No 22tOtl cf 2o2O Respondents No.6 to 9 are impleaded) ...RESPONDENTS Petition trn Jr:r ,\rticle 226 of the Constitution of lndia pray ing that in the circumstances sta-eJ in the affidavit filed therewith, the High 3ourt may be pleased to isstte r//'rt, order or direction more in the nattrre rrf Mandamus, declaring the inpu3ned inaction of the Respondent. N o.5, not promoted the petitioner from Assis;tant statistical Officer to Deputy Statistical Officer in the Panel year 2o1i\-1t. with effect from September, 2013 lear in terms of G.O.Ms.No.42 [)atr:rj 1 911012011 , G.O.Ms.No.2 Dated.9tlt Ji,rnuary, 2004, though the petrtionsr is fully eligible, as illegal, unconstitutional, violation of Artic.le '14, 16 anrl :rinciples of natural justice and consequently a). Direct the Respondent-No.5 tc consider the promotion of the petition,,rr as Deputy Statistical Officer vrrt r retrospectively with effect from Septemlrer, 2013, b) Direct the Respond3nt.No.5 to promote the petitioner for the pos;t of Statistical Officer with retrospectively with effect from September,20'6,l\ND c). Direct the Responden t l,lo 1l to pay arrears and monitory benefits lvith nterest within one month, witlro.r' irsisting in the interests of justice. IA NO: 1 OF 2020 Petition .]r dr: Section I51 CPC praying that in the r;ircumstances stated in the a''fi,lavr1 filed in support of the petition, the High 3ourt may be pleased to grant lrterim Direction to Respondent. No.5, to consider the promotion of ti e gr:t tioner as Deputy Statistical Officer with retrospectively with effect fronr Sergrl.ember 2013, to promote the petitionr:r f<:,r the post of Statistical Officeln,ith retrospectively with effect from Sepiemtrer 2016, and Direct the Resporrcl,:nt.No.5 to pay arrears and monetary berefits with interest within one monlh rr, i:ttout insisting in the interests of jus{ice. Counsel for the Petit,oner : SRI SAMAN AAFREEN Counsel for the Resp'ondents No.1toS : GP FOR SERVICES lll Counsel for the Resp,ondents No.6to9 : The Court made ttrr: lollowing: ORDER -- I HON'BLE SRI JUS,TICE NAGESH BHEEMAPAKA WRIT PETITION No.225O8 oF 2020 ) I I I I I ORDER: Petitioner seeks to challenge the action of the Sth respondent - Directorate of Economics and Statistics in denying him rightful promotion during the panel year 2Ol3 2Ol4 in tcrms of G.O.Ms-No.42, dated 19-10-2011' and G'O'Ms'No 2' dated 09-Oi-2OO4. He therefore, requests to rlirect the 5th respondent to promote him retrospectively as Deputy Statistical Officer from September 2013 and further to the post o[ Statistical Officer from September 2O 16 along with arrears and monetary benefits. It is stated, petitioner was appointed as Assistant 2. Statistical Officer on 07 -06-2006 through APPSC under Zone VI, posted to the Mandal Revenue Ofhcer's ofhce in Bichkonda' Nizamabad District, as per Proceedings dated 26-05-2O06' His services were regularized from 24-06-2006 and probation w'as declared on 23-06-2008 and has been waiting for promotion since then- According to G'O Ms'No '42' dated 19- 1O-2O 1 1' Para 2(i), and G.O.Ms.No.2, dated 9-01-2OO4' disabled employees are entitled to promotions, with the rules for such promolions 2 I- \ .-",1 I parallclirrrr -rr.s. ror SC/sr candidates. G.o.Ms. \o.412 further specifir:s ir Pa ra 2(r,ii) that if sufr-icient candirrr tes with disabiti ti ':, : rc unavailable, the vacancies are tc be filled by intercharrrr: runong drsabilitl. categories. petit.onr:r all:rges that G.O.Ms.lir_.- -l itnd Ci.O.Ms.No_2 establish mechanrsm o .: nsure that if rirr c iliblc candidates lrom one disabkrd categlrv (e.g., VII, HF' (rl )arc available, promotions must prooe€fd through interchzLnq :s belore carrying forward vacancies. A s p rr Letter dated 2 i,! i , O i6 of the 5rh responclent, t\ /o roster poir Ls (106th and l3. ,rl itr distrblcd employces were identified ltrr pt omotion during 2(t1 ,l lt) l4 panel year. Roster point I 06 r.r.a s carried for*'ard tr i r r,r itlrout justiticarion. petitioner contL-r1cs rhat he, belongirg t r OFI [ep6n), was eligible under the rul:s tr, fi]l the 106rr' -.Jt('. l)ornt, u,hich initialll, belonged to VIt (Opcn). Holvcrt_'r, lr' .ir, r,cspondent tailed to promote Lim .rnd instead promolt'rl,r rrir,t. Saidamma, appointcd in 20L; nrA:,t I2016, therebl. r jr kLt r rs promotion guidelines. t\:r i1. j1yn". therefore, submitted represelltatlo I daled 2O-12-2O) ( ) lhe Srh respondent through the Chir:f I, anning Officer, lli:arrz lrircl, requcsting considcration fo- prcn:ction to Deputy Str t sri::ar ofrir:er. Despite this, Responrient No 5 only promoted lri.r [. Deputy statistical ()fficer ur:crcr- the 156rh 7 J I roster point with effect from 11-10-2016' per Proceedings datcd O2-lO 2016. This delay, it is alleged, caused two signihcant losses: (a) delay in promotion to Deputy Statistical Officer from September 2013 to October 2016, arld' (b) loss of promotion to Statistical Officer in 2016, which would have occurred if his promolion had been timelY' The counter affidavit filed by Respondents No 2 3. and 5 outlines their response to the allegations raised in the writ petition fiIed by petitioner' It is stated' during 20 1 3- 14 in the composite State of Andhra Pradesh' promotions from ASOs to Deputy Statistical Officers (DySOs) were carried out for roster points 1O4 to 1 I 1. Roster point 106 (VH - Blindness or Low Vision) re mained unfilled due to non-availability of eligible canclidates as pe r G.O'Ms 99, dated 04-03-2013' This vacancy wascarriedforwardto2ol4-l5.Followingthebifurcationof State, no promotions / transfers were undertaken during 2O 14 15. The guiclelines issued through G O'Rt'No'595' G A' (Ser'D)' dated 17-O9-2O 14, allowed resumption of such activities in Promotions resumed in 2O15 16' Telanga na lrom 20 I 5- 16 covering roster points 112 to 133 Roster point 1O6 (VH) was stillunlrltedduetononavailabilityofeligiblecandidateuntil 26-03-2016, when Smt' Ch' Saidamma' an eligible visually- 1 handica p r,::l candidatc, llras promoted asi t'vSC under procecdirgs lated 26-O3 2O 16. \r,'c:ording lo lhese respondents, petitioler-, rT '1-ro has a locorrrritr, ,lisabili$, s'as promoted as DySO rn 2[) 6 under roster poir . t56 (Locomotor Disability), pcr procr:edir gs dated 02- 10-:lO 1 : . The respondents cite adhe rencr: lc (l '') Ms'99, dated (),+-()1 2013, which mandates scparate roster p'oints for various :i'tegories of disabililies. Thcv dct:ri'ed the implemetLt;.ti rrL of G.O.Ms.42, dated 1!) 10-20 1, and G.O.Ms.!-9, u'hich allocatc ros[er points to di:;abk:d e'r-rployees in a cycl: ri IOO vacancies. Specific turns 6'h,:Isi. and 56ft are rcs('r v ri ftrr visually handicapped, hearirLg irnp'a red, and locomo,rrr, :,'rcbral palsy categories, rcspe':tive[-''-. Carried- lorwarc v rcz ncics are :rddressed in subseqtrerlt c1'':lcs, and interchar;1ir Li1 amollg categories is only perrnittt d when candiclrt'r; Iront all three categories are LllravE ilabte Upon receivinq retitioner's representation datcd 09 (11 2018, respon1cn(s sought clarification from the governlncnt on i,r,hetl-re r il follow G.O.Ms.42 or G.O,Ms.'19 for disabled employe't ;:rtomotions. A letter dated O2 03 2018 u,ar, sent for guidan:e [r is stated, pelitioner's promotion to Dvf ]O under roster p(ri :t 156 u,as corrcct. Thcy argue thal his clernand for ) retrospective promotion and arrears against roster point 106 (VH) is untenable since he belongs to the locomotor disability category and there was sufficient representation of pHC candidates in higher cadres. Non-joinder of Smt_ Ch. Saidamma, a necessary par{r, is cited as a procedural lapse, warranting dismissal of the writ petition. The respondents emphasize adherence to all relevant G.O.s, including G.O.Ms.No.4 (0S-O1_2O16), G.O.Ms.No.345 (02-09 2016), and G.O.Ms.No.85 (18_OS_2018), and justify their decisions based on adequate representation and reservation policies. 4 Subsequently, LA.No. 2 of 2024 was taken out to implead Respondents 6 to 9 as party respondents to Writ Petition and the said Application was ordered.

5. Heard Sri Saman Aafreen, iearned counsel for petitioner as well as Ms. Vyjayanthi, learned Assistant Governmcnt Pleader for Services_Ill.

6. The core issue in this writ petition concerns the petitioner's challenge Lo denial of promotion to the Deputy Statistical officer (Dyso) post under Roster point 1o6, reserved for visually handicapped (VH) candidates. petiLioner, a person 6 l n ith loc ornor r r disabilify, alleges that the vac: nc.,' u a ; carried for'',l.arrl ur.r l.'r r,'[ully, depriving him of promotion in l] I14 15. 7 . l' -om the material available on record, in pz: rtrcular, lrorn tLr r .ror rrtcr filed on behalf of Respondents 12 anrl 5, it is clear thrrt f,(r jtioner with Iocomotor clisability r,riLs c:onsi,lered for promoti )r '.r -hc post of DepuLy SLatistical Offir:er clu rir rg 2O 16 17 against lr: roster point 156 which is mearrl fcr Lc comotor disabilily -i 1egory uide proceedings dated 02.10..t016 in accordar(e r,-ith G.O.Ms. No.99, dated 04-03.201i]. 1h: case of petitionor i; -irat he is entitled to be considerecr in Ros cr point 1O6, canttr, )e countenanced lor it u,ets mczrnt lor ,'isua11y- handicappe rl whereas he bclongs to .'-)rtL.opa .:dically- handicaope 11 ('ategory. Due to bifurcation, no l)rr)nlolir ns were affecLecl 1( ri post of Deputv Statistical Oflicer and the unfilled vacancv lr loster point 106 VH was carried fcrrr r,ard to succecd 111 ilal' as per G.O.Ms.No. 99, dated 0,1.(r3..2()13 and the carrie:l l tru,ard \.acancy under Roster point J O()('iH) was considere'rl rl'rring 2015-16 for promotion with cligible ,isually- handicar;1: e,:L r:andidate Smt. Ch Saidarr.ma, ,a ssistant Statistic r1 t ,tlf ct:r (VH) to the post of DySO r,ide prur reedings dated 2(i.()l].llltr. At this relevant point, it is; apprrrl ,riate to have a glan<:r' ert G.O.Ms.No. 99, dated 04.03.2013. Il .hc said 7 G.O., it is categorically mcntioncd that 'the 6*', 31st and 56th turn in each cycle of hundred (100) vacancies shall be allotted to the Blindness or Low Vision (visually-handicapped), Hearing Impaired (hearing handicapped) and locomotor disability or cerebral palsy (Orthopaedicalty handicapped) persons respectively as stated above and where qualihed and suitable candidates are not available from among them, the turn allotted for them in the unit referred to above shall be carried forward to the succeeding recruitmenl ycar for being fi1led from the same category. If, in that year also, qualified candidates of the same category are not available, the samc shall be notihed for being fi1led up by interchanging from among the three categories' Only when there is no person with disability of any of the three categories, the same shall be notified for being filled up by interchanging lrom among the three categories only when there is no person with disability of any of the three categories available for the post, the vacancy shatl be hiled up by the employer by appointing a person, other than a person with disability. Provided that if qualihed women candidates are not available for the posts reserved for u'omen, qualified men candidates of the same category of disabted may be appointed' 1 \ 8

8. -:r:lr1-red Government Pleader also placc d b,rfore this :c1,1 o[ the letter dated 22.Oi.2025 irddrcsst d b1' the Court t-t€ Drrecto- [)i''r:cl.or of Economics and Statistic j irtltrrr.rLing that ccrtair pron:rtions to the posts of Deputl' Sltatistir:t I Ofhcer arose irr th( (tcpartment were undertaken dunrtg L.tc r .rar 202 1 uide rro:e e dings No. 5133/Admn./DyS()/:ll)2 L clated l€).O9.2()-) basing on the seniority / eligibilitr <,1 leeder categor.' c 1' Assistant Statistical Ofhcers/ I\'[anr1:,r. l)ianning St:rtisfir::rl ( )f'lcers under erstwhlle Zone Vl in 'li:1rLnq: na State Econonri< rL;r:l Statistical Services. The said .op-\' rsr aken or-t rec:ord.

9. rr view of the above, the contenttc,tt ol lcarncd counsel [,rr pr:litioner that peLitioner is entitlcd ft)r )r, ,rrotion as Deputl' St:.listical Of[icer with retrospect vc' cl-ftr:t from Septembe r !()13 .rn thereafter to the post o[ !]lalist'crr1 ()fficer with eflect Irrm September 2016 cannot be r:orrsiclrr''c1. The Writ Po -itir,;r, iLr the considered opinion, of this Cor:rt is. Iitrble to be disrriss:c. 'lhr: Writ Petition is accordingll. clisnrir,sed. No

10. costs. 9 rI 11 Consequenlly, Miscellaneous Applications, if any shall stand closed //TRUE COPY// SD/. A. JAYASREE TANT REGISTRAR s SECTION OFFIGER ,/ To,

1. One CC to SRl. SAMAN AAFREEN, Advocate. IOPUCI 2. fwo CCs to GP FOR SERVICES I ,High Court for the State of Telangana. louTl

3. Two DC Copies 4. One Spare Copy \ t .., c ,-. t'l :s ). 26;tru 2W t(\ L A o t) . ,.J \\ \ HIGH COI"'RT DATED:21 rcil2025 ORDER WP.No.2250tl of 2020 DISMISSING 'THE WRIT PETITION WITHOUT COSTS 0,{' I ahl6