The High Court · 2025

Petition under Section 15'l CPC praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed in support of the petition, the High Court may be pleased to suspend the operation of G.O. Rt. No. 298 Health, Medical and Family Welfare (A) Department dated 07.07.2025 to extent of petitioner's promotion, by directing the Respondents to retain and consequentially continue the Petitioner in the present post where she has been working by suspending the notification dated 11.07.2025 to an extent of showing Petitioner's post as vacant pending disposal of the writ petition. lA NO: 2 OF 2025 Between:

1. The State of Telangana, Rep by Principal Secretary, Health, Medical & Family Welfare Dept, Secretariat, Saifabad, Hyderabad.

2. The Director of Medical Education, Government of Telangana, Koti, Hyderabad.

3. The Principal, Kakatiya tt/edical College, Hanmakonda. AND Dr. Sanjeevakumari, W/o. Dr. J.M. Lokabhi Reddy Aged about 62 years, Occ: Professor Radio Therapy, Kakatiya medical College, Hanmakonda. ... PETITION ERS/RESPON D E NTS ...RESPONDENT/PETITIONER Petition under Section 151 CPC praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed in support of the petition, the High Court may be pleased to vacate the interim order d1.14-07-2025 in W.P.No.20272 ot 2025. Counsel for the Petitioner: SRI R. ANURAG Counsel for the Respondents: GP FOR SERVICES I The Court made the following: ORDER ; jri.1j.. it{Yl; ii:j, " :r . ) ORDER: THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE PULLA I{ARTHIK WRIT PETITION No.2O272 of 2025 Aggrieved by the action of respondents in issuing promotion orders to the petitioner uide G.o.Rt.No.298, Health, Medical and Family Welfare (A) Department, dated 07.O7.2025, despite her unwillingness to accept the promotion and also in declaring her present post as vacant uide notlfrcation dated ll.O7 .2025, tlne present Writ Petition is filed.

2. Heard sri R. Anurag, learned counsel for the petitioner and learned Government Pleader for Services-l appearing on behalf of the respondents.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner has been discharging her services in the respondent-Department for more than 3O years, starting as Civil Assistant Surgeon in the year 1991 and is presently working as Professor of Radiotherapy at Kakatiya Medical college, Hanumakonda. while so, the respondents issued the impugned order uide G.o.Rt.No.298, Health, Medical and Family welfare (A) Department, dated 07.07.2025, promoting the petitioner as superintendent of Government General uospital, Narayanpet. However, the petitioner is unwilling to accept the said promotion, on 2 PK, J wP 20272'2025 accoLrnt of serious health issues of her husband, who is undergoing treatment and requires due care and attention. As such, the petitioner had expressed to the respondents her unwillingness to accept the said promotion through several representations, and also applied for voluntary retirement in February 2025. However, the respondents have not considered either of her requests till date, and unilaterally promoted and posted her as Superintendent of Government General Hospital, Narayanpet, and consequently, declared her present post as vacant. Therefore, the action of the respondents is wholly illegal, arbitrary, unjust, unreasonable, without jurisdiction, violative of principles of natural justice and infringement of Articles 14 and 2l of the Constitution of India, and also contrary to Rule 11 of the Telangarla State and Subordinate Service Rules, 1966 (for brevity, the RulesJ. It is further submitted that as per Rule I 1 of the Rules, 4. candidates who secured a promotion, are entitled to forego such promotion, and nobody can insist an employee to join the promotion post. It is submitted that the petitioner has submitted proper representations, agreeing to forego her promotion, and thus, the respondents are duty-bound to continue her in the caclre of Professor in respondent-College. However, contrarSr to Rule 1 1 of the Rules, and the * i l 3 PK, J wP_20272_2025 terms of G.o.Rt.No.298, dated or.or.2025, the respondents are taking steps to relieve her and Iill her post with another person, and the sarne is illegal, arbitrary, and unjust. It is further submitted that in several cases,' doctors who opted to forego promotion were retained in their existing posts without being forced to accept the promotion. It is submitted that one, Dr. surya prakash, was duly retained in the same post after he expressed his choice to forego his promotion. Similarly, in the 2o24-Promotion counseling, (r1) professors, who opted to forego their promotions, were retained. However, in case of the petitioner, for the reasons best known to them, the respond.ents are compelling her to accept the promotion, which action of the respondents is ex-facieillegal, unconstitutional and discriminatory. Therefore, learned counsel for the petitioner prays this court to issue necessary directions to the respondents to accept her relinquishment and to continue her in the present post i.e., Professor at respondent-College.

5. Per contre", learned Government pleader for Services-I, while admitting the facts that the petitioner was promoted as professor in the year 2ol2 and has been working as such in the respondent_college, submits that the Government has promoted (44) professors as Additional Director of Medical Ed.ucation, Principals of Medical colleges t; i: 4 PK, J wP_20272-2025 and Superintendents of Government General Hospital, and necessary posting orders were issued. to the promoted employees, including the petitioner herein, uide G.O.Rt.No.298, Health, Medical and Family Welfare (A) Department, dated O7.O7.2O25, wherein, it was clearly mentioned at paragraph No.4 that the Director of Medical Education, Telangana, Hyclerabad, shall take immediate steps to communicate the said orders to the Principal of Medical College concerned/ Superintendent of the Hospital concerned and to relieve the individuals immediately, without seeking their consent for relief, by granting (15) days time to the individuals for joining their respective promoted posts. It is further submitted that the Government of Telangana has 6. sanctioned and established (25) new Medical Colleges and the total sanctioned strength of Additional Director of Medical Education, principal of Medical College and Superintendent of Teaching General Hospitals is (6a), but the working strength is only (15). As such, to fill up the remaining (49) vacant posts, the Government has taken up promotions of Special Grade Professors and Professors (Clinical, Non- Clinical and Super Specialty), and the Departmental Promotion Committee had recommended (44) individuals for promotion to the posts of Additional Director of Medical EducationlPrincipal of Medical 2 / 5 PK, J wP_20272_202s cotlege/Superintendent of Teaching General Hospitals, which are State-level posts. Hence, the promotees can be posted anywhere in the State. Accordingly, posting orders were issued keeping in view the administrative exigencies and the National Medical Commission's (NMC) requirements, duly following the need-based assessment, as it may affect the recognition of the Medicat Colleges in the NMC inspections and the Government officers have to be ready to serve, wherever required in public interest. It is further submitted that the refusal to accept postings, if allowed, would lead to chaos, and would seriously affect the functioning of the Government Medical Colleges and their recognition, violating the public interest at large. It is submitted that the acceptance of the petitioner's contention that the impugned G.O.Rt.No.298, dated 07.O7.2025 is contrary to Rule 11 of the Rules, would encourage more refusals and hamper the governance and functioning. Therefore, it is prayed to dismiss the present Writ petition. Reliance has been placed on Rule 28 of the Rules, and also upon the decisions of the Honble Apex Court in State of tlttar prad.esh u. Achal singht and slc. No;usqd Rahq,moln u. (Jnion of rndiaz. r (2018) 17 SCC 578 2 2022 Livelaw (SC) 266 6 PI(, J wP,20'272_2025

7. This Court has taken note of the submissions made by learned counsel for the respective parties and perused the material on record.

8. Admittedly, while the petitioner was working as Professor of Radiotherapy at Kakatiya Medical College, Ftranumakonda, she was promoted and posted as Superintendent at Government General Hospital, Narayanpet, uide impugned G.O.Rt.No.298, dated 07 .O7 .2025, which is a non-teaching post. Paragraph No.5 of the said G.O., which is relevant in the present context, is reproduced hereunder: "The Professors promoted aboue, shall join the promotion post within a period of 15 cTags from the date of receipt of the orders of promotion. If, they fail to join the new post ttithin the said time limit or euade to jotn the post by proeeding on leaue, theg slnll forfeit their promotion for the anrrent panel gear in terms of Rule 11 (b) of TS fiate & Subordinate Seruices Rules, 1996',.

9. From a bare reading of the above, it is clear that if a promotee fails to join the promotion post within (15.) days, the5,' shall forfeit their promotion for the current panel year, in terms of Rule 11 (b) of the Telangana State and Subordinate Service Rules, 1996, which provision of law reads as under: " 1 1. The time limit for joining either on first selection or on promotion or on appointment b y transfer:- (a) ..... (b) Time to join a post on appointment/temporary appointment under Rule 10 including ctppointment bg transfer or bg promotion otherwise than bg I t 7 PK, J wP_20272_202s direct recruitment, shall be allowed a joining time of 15 (fifteen) days to join the post from ttrc date of receipt of the order of appotntment sent to tlrc candidate by Regtstered Post with acknowledgement due or by ang other means. An emplovee who does not ioin the post within the stipulated time or euades to ioin the post blt oroceedinq on leaue, shall lose his/her promotion right rfer for the atrrent panel uear and. the name of the candidate shatt be placed before the next Departmental Promotion Committee for consideratton in the nert gear panel subject to auailabilitg of uacancA. In case of rnn-selection posts, the name of the candidate who does not join within the stipulated time in the promorion posts shalt be considered for promotion again afi.er a period of one gear from the d.ate of offer of appointment subject to auailabilitg of uacancA." (Emphasis Supplied)

10. Paragraph No.5 of the impugned G.O.Rt.No.2gg, dated O7.O7.2O25, juxtapose with Rule 11 (b) of the Rules, makes it unequivocally clear that the non-joining of a promotee in the promoted post within a period of fifteen (15) days would render forfeiture of his/her promotion for that particular panel year. 1 1. [n the instant case, admittedly, the petitioner had expressed her willingness to forego the promotion, even before joining in the promoted post, which aligns with paragraph No.5 of the impugned G.o.Rt.No.298, dated o7.o7.2o25, as well as Rule 11 (b) of the Rules, referred supra. Hence, as is alleged by her, the respondents cannot compel the petitioner to accept the promotion.

12. Further, to substantiate their case, the respondents urge that the Government has taken up the present promotion process in view of 8 PK, J wP_20272_2025 establishment of (25) new Medical Colleges across the State, and that non-availability of the required faculty would affect the recognition of the Medical Colleges itself in the NMC's Inspections, which would be in utter violation of the public interest at large.

13. [f really, the purport of the present promotions is to get over the inspections of the NMC and to maintain the recognition of the Medical Colleges, the respondents ought to have posted the petitioner in such newly established Medical Colleges as faculty/teaching staff, since her services are already being utilized in the capacity of teaching faculty in her present place of work. Instead, the respondents have promoted and posted the petitioner in a non-teaching post, which has nothing to do with the main purpose for effecting promotions. In such circumstances, the respondents cannot contencl that the promotions and postings are effected in public interest.

14. Further, the petitioner has made several representations and also made an application for voluntary retirement in the month of February

2025. The respondents authorities, till date, have neither considered the said applica.tion nor taken any action on the same. Therefore, the decision ielied upon by the respondents in Acho.l Singh (supra) is of no avail to them. Similarly, the decision in SIc. Nauso,d Rahanno;n (supra) I / t 9 PK, J wP_20272_2025 also cannot be made applicable to the facts of the present case, since the present case concerns relinquishment of promotion. ! I !

15. For the afore-mentioned reasons, more particularly in view of the relinquishment pleaded by the petitioner, the impugned G.O.Rt.No.298, dated 07.O7.2025, is hereby set aside in respect of the petitioner herein alone.

16. Accordingly, the Writ Petition is allowed Miscellaneous applications, if any, pending in this writ petition, shall stand closed. No costs. //TRUE COPYII P. PONNA KRISHNA STANT REGISTRAR SECTION OFFICER Welfare Dept, The State To, \ 1 The Principal Secretary, Health, Medicaland Fa of Telangana, Secretariat, Saifabad, Hyderabad Hyderabad..

2. The Director of lt/edical Education, Government of Telangana, Koti, :

3. The Principal, Kakatiya Medical College, Hanmakonda. 4. One CC to SRI R. ANURAG, Advocate [OPUC] 5. Two CCs to GP FOR SERVICES !, High Court for the State of Telangana

6. Two CD Copies BN GJP j HIGH COURT DATED i2511012025 ORDER WP.No.20272 of 2025 Tl-lE s iilil rlt?i *. ALLOWING THE WRIT PETITION WITHOUT COSTS _.i..;.,i:..r.. _. .: -i