Ramesh Ranganathan, J.

This Writ Petition is filed by the State of Andhra Pradesh and the Director of Survey and Settlements aggrieved by the order passed by the A.P. Administrative Tribunal (for short ‘the Tribunal’) in O.A.No.1152 of 2011 dated 23.07.2014. The 1st respondent herein, an Inspector of Survey, Settlement & Land Records, invoked the jurisdiction of the Tribunal to declare the proceedings dated 05.02.2011, issued by the Commissioner of Survey and Settlements, as arbitrary, illegal, malafide, in violation of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India, and ultra-vires Rule 20 of the Andhra Pradesh Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1991 (the “Appeal Rules” for short).

The 1st respondent was initially appointed as a Deputy Surveyor in the year 1982. He was subsequently promoted as a Surveyor, then as a Deputy Inspector and later as the Inspector of Survey in the years 1992, 2002 and 2003 respectively. The Anti- Corruption Bureau registered a criminal case against him, in Cr. No.28 of 2009 dated 26.12.2009, for possession of assets disprop