Point of Law
It is settled law that concept of nativity in public service cannot be applied for allocation as it violates the fundamental right of the petitioner guaranteed by Art. 16(2) of the Constitution of India

ORDER :

M.S. Ramachandra Rao, J.

The Background facts

The petitioner is working as Asst.Manager in the A.P.Industrial Development Corporation Ltd (2nd respondent) (for short ‘APIDC’) since 2013. His spouse is working as Manager in Telangana State in the Asset Management Department of the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (1st respondent) (for short ‘TSIDC’).

2. The erstwhile composite State of Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated into the new State of Telangana (respondent no.3) and the residuary State of Andhra Pradesh (respondent no.4) w.e.f. 2.6.2014 by the A.P. Reorganisation Act,2014.

3. Petitioner’s grievance is that he was born at Raichur in the State of Karnataka, but his entire education was in Hyderabad in the new State of Telangana; and after the bifurcation of the composite State of Andhra Pradesh into the new State of Telangana and the residuary State of Andhra Pradesh, he ought to have been allotted to the 1st respondent Corporation (TSIDC) in the State of Telangana and not to the 2nd respondent Corporation (APIDC) in the State of A.P. on ‘spouse grounds’.

4. He contends that he had given option on 27.8.2014 to the Telangana unit of the 2nd respondent to be allotted to TSIDC, that the Joint Committee of TSIDC and APIDC (respondents 1 and 2) reported on 16.12.2015 that he is entitled to be allotted to the State of Telangana as his spouse is working in the said State; even the Dy.General Manager of the APIDC vide letter dt.21.5.2018 addressed to the Joint Managing Director, TSIDC Ltd stated that he had no objection for relieving him to the State of Telangana, but contrary to the same, by letter dt.17.12.2018, both the respondents had allotted him to the APIDC.

5. He also relies on para 18 (k) and (l) of the guidelines for final allocation of State cadre employees under the A.P. Reorganisation Act, 2014 approved by the Government of India and which were communicated under G.O.Ms.No.312 dt.31.10.2014 which state:

“(k) Spouse of an All India Service (AIS) officer who belongs to a State cadre or is an employee of a State Government institution shall be allocated, where so desired by the spouse, to the State to which the AIS Officer is allocated;

(l) Spouses in State cadre in government or in State Government institutions, local bodies and those who are deemed allocated as per the Act, shall as far as practicable, be allotted to the same State, after considering options made by them and their local candidature. Spouses who are local candidates of a state shall be allocated to that state. Spouses who belong to different States may be allocated after considering their options.”

6. Admittedly, after 2-6-2014 when the composite State of Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated into the State of Telangana and the new State of Andhra Pradesh, both the said States constituted an “Officers Committee” for evolving a policy for inter-state transfers between the two States vide G.O.Rt.No.1634 General Administration (SPF & MC) Department dt.3.8.2016.

7. Basing on the recommendations of the said Committee, guidelines governing inter-state transfers were issued vide Circular Memo.No.9940/SPF & MC/ 2015 dt.7.8.2017 by the above Departments of both States to consider inter-state transfer of Local cadre (District/Zone/Multi Zonal) and State cadre employees on spouse grounds/criteria and on mutual basis and the same were accepted by the Government of Andhra Pradesh and Government of Telangana for implementation. Petitioner also relies on these guidelines.

The Stand of the respondent nos 2 and 4 (APIDC and the State of AP)

8. It is contended by these respondents that after bifurcation of State of Andhra Pradesh, the APIDC has allocated its employees provisionally between two successor Corporations i.e. APIDC and TSIDC vide Office Orders dt.18-07-2014 and 25-07-2014; there were 62 employees as on 01-06-2014; as per the provisional allotment, 30 employees were allotted to the APIDC and 32 employees allotted to TSIDC; and the employees who belongs to o