Recruitment by transfer to the post of Assistant Conservator of Forests is governed by rule 4 of the Andhra Pradesh Service Commission Rules of Procedure, 1963, which introduces a factor of competition and virtually makes the recruitment by transfer a selection post.

GOPAL RAP EKBOTE, J.

( 1 ) THIS is an appeal from the judgment of our learned brother, chinnappa Reddy, J. , given in W. P. No. 1410 of 1965 on 31st July, 1968 whereby the learned Judge dismissed the writ petition.

( 2 ) THE matter arises thus : The petitioner was recruited as a Forest Ranger in 1944. He was regularised, after training, in 1956. He possessed the qualifications for being considered to the next higher post of Assistant Conservator of Forests. While the post of Forest Ranger is a non-gazetted post, the post of Assistant conservator of Forests is a gazetted post. The complaint of the petitioner is that although he was qualified to be considered for the post of Assistant Conservator of Forests and although he was senior, for the last many years he has been overlooked. At least once the public Service Commission had recommended his name. But subsequently the public Service Commision itself withdrew the recommendation. It is because of these facts that he filed the Writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution for the issue of a writ of certiorari to quash the order of the Chief Conservator of Forests, Government of andhra Pradesh, dated 16th March, 1964, whereunder he was told that the post of Assistant Conservator of Forests is a selection post and that his case will be considered as and when vacancies arise.

( 3 ) THE learned Judge dismissed the writ petition holding that it is a selection post and the right which the petitioner has is only to be considered and therefore, refused to issue the writ of certiorari. It is this view that is now challenged in this appeal.

( 4 ) IT mav be that from the day the petitioner qualified himself to be considered for the post of assistant Conservator of Forests he was continuously ignored although several vacancies had arisen and although his juniors were promoted. We cannot do anything in that matter because the promotees are not made parties to this case and therefore, no arguments which are likely to affect those persons or any one of them can be heard and decided behind their back. The learned Advocate for the appellant also did not want any such promotion to be declared as illegal as against the petitioner.

( 5 ) THE question then remains about the future promotions, the only thing, which, according to him, comes in the way of (sic) the impugned letter by which the respondent has characterised the post of Assistant Conservator of Forests as selection post. What was contended before us by Mr. Vidyasagar, the learned counsel for the petitioner is that as the post of Assistant Conservator of Forests is filled up by recruitment by transfer from amongst the Forest Rangers the post is not a selection post and that therefore, it can be filled in according to rule 34 of the State and Subordinate Service rules by taking into consideration the seniority and not on merit. If this is done, he contends, the petitioner being the seniormost, his record being clean, he shall be transferred by recruitment to the post of Assistant Conservator of forests.

( 6 ) NOW according to rule 2 of the Andhra pradesh Forest Service Rules, category IV posts i. e. , the posts of Asssitant conservators can be filled in by direct recruitment or recruitment by transfer from among Forest Rangers from the andhra Pradesh Forest Subordinate service.

( 7 ) RULE 3 which relates to selection posts declares the posts of Chief Conservator of Forests, Conservators of Forests and deputy Conservators of Forests to be selection posts. The post of Assistant conservator of Forests is not declared as a selection post by the said Rules.

( 8 ) THE question then is whether rule 34 of the Andhra Pradesh State and Subordinate Service Rules applied to such posts, as is contended by the learned advocate for the appellant. Rule 34 relates to promotion. It is true that it lays down two different modes in case of promotion (i) when promotion is made to a selection category or grade, and (ii) the other promotions according to se

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