G. Krishna Mohan Reddy

In all these writ petitions, common questions of law and facts arise for consideration, therefore they are being disposed of by this common order.

In these writ petitions, assailed common order dated 21.9.2011 passed in O.A.Nos.6565 and 3492 of 2011 and batch, common order passed in O.A.No.4356 of 2011 and batch dated 28.9.2011 and order passed in O.A.No.4591 of 2011 dated 12.10.2011 on the file of A.P. Administrative Tribunal, Hyderabad so far as related to those specified applications respectively.

The petitioners in all these petitions are the respondents and the respondents in these petitions are the applicants in the corresponding Original Applications before the A.P. Administrative Tribunal (for brevity ‘the Tribunal’). For the sake of convenience, the parties hereinafter be referred to as they are arrayed in the Original Applications.

The common order dated 21.9.2011 covers two sets of applications. Here the concern is limited to the common order to the extent of first set of applications therein only. All the said Original Applications which are relevant here were filed seeking direction to the respondents to notify all the vacancies of Panel Grade Headmasters/Gazetted Headmasters Grade-II which were filled up by juniors to the applicants from September 2009 to April 2011, if necessary by amending clause (6) of transfer guidelines issued on 19.5.2011 said to be done earlier in the general transfer counseling held during July 2009 holding that the action of the respondents in not notifying the vacancies held by the juniors to the applicants in the ensuing transfer counseling as illegal, arbitrary and discriminatory. By the impugned order, the Tribunal upheld the claim of the applicants, aggrieved by which these writ petitions have been filed.

The circumstances under which the said common order came to be passed before the Tribunal is as follows:

The applicants were promoted as Panel Grade Headmasters/Gazetted Headmasters Grade-II and majority of them were posted to various places during January and February 2009 etc. By virtue of the guidelines issued vide proceedings Rc.No.1671/D1-3/2009 dated 24.6.2009, they participated in the general transfer counseling held on 16.7.2009 and they were posted to places where they are presently working by treating that their appointments were made on ad hoc basis. The Government issued general rules relating to Regulation of the Transfers of Teachers vide G.O.Ms.No.65 dated 19.5.2011, Rule 12 of which provides that the Headmasters who have completed two years of service as on 1.6.2011 at the places of their work are entitled to apply for transfer. The applicants were deprived of applying for the transfers as they did not complete two years of service by them at their present places of work. However, on necessary representation, the Government issued G.O.Ms.No.66 Education Department dated 25.5.2011 relaxing the two years of minimum service noting that the

Teachers who were promoted during January 2009 and re-allotted places in July 2009 through counseling should be considered to participate in the forthcoming transfer counseling without completing two years of their tenure at their places of work. Accordingly all of them submitted their respective applications for transfer through online. But prior to that, the Commissioner and Director of School Education, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad issued Transfer Guidelines vide proceedings Rc.No.1570/C3-2/2011 dated 19.5.2011, whereas clause (6) thereunder contemplates that the places which were filled up by those who were juniors to the applicants, following their promotions during September 2009 and April 2011 were not notified, by virtue of which, the applicants were denied to opt for the places filled up by juniors.

The main grievance of the applicants is that after their promotion, number of juniors were promoted as Panel Grade Headmasters through proceedings dated 9.10.2009 and similarly some other juniors were