ORDER :

Heard the learned Senior counsel Sri S M Chandrashekar along with learned counsel for the petitioner. Learned AAG Sri Subramanya along with learned HCGP Sri Venkatasatyanarayana A for respondent No.1 and learned Senior counsel Sri D R Ravishankar along with learned counsel Sri V B Vijayakumar for respondent No.2.

2. The petitioner who was discharging duties as Director of the Directorate of Minorities, Minority Welfare Department was transferred out of the post by impugned order dated 23.07.2021 and aggrieved he approached the Tribunal. The Tribunal after a detailed hearing has been pleased to negate the challenge on the short ground that he does not possess the eligibility stipulated under the C and R (Cadre and Recruitment) Rules of the minority department i.e. the Karnataka Minorities Welfare Services (Cadre and Recruitment) Rules, 2010 published on 15.03.2011 (hereinafter referred to as the 2011 Rules for the sake of brevity). That the petitioner being in the cadre of Deputy Secretary was ineligible to be appointed as the Director of the Minorities Department, as the C and R Rules stipulates that the director can only be from among the cadre of Karnataka Administrate Services (Selection Grade/Higher Pay scale) or Indian Administrative Service (IAS) (Senior Scale Officer). On that short ground the Tribunal was pleased to repel the challenge mounted by the petitioner.

3. It is contended on behalf of the petitioner that the post of Deputy Secretary is equivalent in grade to that of IAS and KAS Officer of Senior scale. In this regard the learned senior counsel would invite the attention of the Court to the notification issued by the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms bearing No.DPAR 105 SRD 2014, Bengaluru, dated 10.07.2019 and would take the Court to Schedule I and more particularly would draw the attention to the entry at Sl.No.17 wherein the filling up of the post of Deputy Secretary to Government, Karnataka Government Secretariat is shown to be by way of promotion from the cadre of Under Secretary to Government, Karnataka Government Secretariat Services or by posting of IAS and KAS (Group A) (Senior scale) officers and he would further take the Court through the Note I, which states that out of the posts of Deputy Secretaries 12 posts shall be filled up by posting IAS or KAS group A (Senior scale officers). Provided that six posts in the cadre of Deputy Secretaries to Government shall be filled up by the deputation of officers of the Karnataka Administrative Services shall be filled up by the deputation of the Karnataka Administrative Services (Senior scale) subject to the condition that an equal number of officers of the Karnataka Government Secretariat Services are deputed to any other State Civil Services.

4. From a reading of the above it is apparent that by the said notification the Government has, as a policy permitted the appointment of officers of the KAS Group A (Senior scale officers) to be posted as Deputy Secretaries and officiate in the in the post of the Karnataka Government Secretariat. Further reading of the note only states that the said postings are subject to the condition that an equal number of officers of the Karnataka Government Secretariat Services are deputed to any other State Civil Services and in that view he would contend that the posting of the petitioner cannot be faulted with on the ground that the C and R Rules do not permit the posting of the non KAS or non IAS officer to the post of Director. In our opinion the said contention is fallacious and requires to be rejected at the threshold itself. Eligibility once stipulated requires to be adhered to strictly. Merely because, by the above notification the Karnataka Government Secretariat Services Recruitment Rules of 2019 enabled the posting of the officers of KAS Group A (Senior scale) to be posted in the Secretariat Services Department and stipulation of a quid pro quo in the cadre and recruitment Rules of 2019 of the Kar