APHC010095172010

IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH

AT AMARAVATI [3509]

(Special Original Jurisdiction)

WEDNESDAY, THE EIGHTH DAY OF JANUARY

TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FIVE

PRESENT

THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE RAVI NATH TILHARI

THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE CHALLA GUNARANJAN

WRIT PETITION NO: 28617/2010

Between:

The State Of Ap., Rep.by Its Prl.secretary & 2 Oths and ...PETITIONER(S)

Others

AND

S T Rafiuddin Junior Assistant Anoth and Others ...RESPONDENT(S)

Counsel for the Petitioner(S):

1. GP FOR SERVICES II

Counsel for the Respondent(S):

1. G L NARASIMHA RAO

The Court made the following order:

THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE RAVI NATH TILHARI &

THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE CHALLA GUNARANJAN WRIT PETITION No:28617 OF 2010 JUDGMENT (per CHALLA GUNARANJAN, J):

This writ petition one in the nature of Writ of Certiorari is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking to call for the records relating to the orders of the A.P. Administrative Tribunal passed in O.A. No.1240 of 2007, dated 26.03.2009 and quash the same as being perverse, in excess of jurisdiction and contrary to law and for a consequential direction.

2. The brief facts of the case in a nutshell are that:

(a) The 1^st respondent, while working as Junior Assistant in the office of the Commercial Tax Officer, Akividu, alleging that he indulged in grave irregularities of misappropriation of Government Revenue, was placed under suspension, besides issuing memo dated 05.07.2004 proposing articles of charges. The Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Tax, Eluru Division, East Godavari District – i.e., the 2^nd petitioner, who initiated the above proceedings in his charge memo has alleged that the 1^st respondent collected an amount of ₹7,900/- towards professional tax and sales tax unauthorizedly from different dealers and misappropriated the same rather than depositing the said amounts with the treasury or the Deputy Commercial Tax Officer-I, Akividu, and thereby, misused his official position and misappropriated the amounts so collected, which was in violation of A.P. Civil Services (Conduct)

Rules, 1964.

(b) The Commercial Tax Officer – I, Tanuku, so appointed by the 2^nd petitioner, upon conducting enquiry into the above charges submitted report dated 17.11.2004 holding that the above said charges were proved against the 1^st respondent. In pursuance to the same, the 2^nd petitioner after issuing a proper show-cause notice, enclosing the enquiry report and considering the objections of 1^st respondent thereon, by proceedings Ref. No.B2/2019/2003, dated 01.07.2006, imposed major penalty of dismissal from service.

(c) Aggrieved by the same, the 1^st respondent has preferred appeal before the 3^rd petitioner – Appellate Authority, who by proceedings CCT’s Ref.No.V4/281/2005, dated 17.02.2007, dismissed the same and confirmed the order of dismissal.

(d) Aggrieved by the aforesaid proceedings dated 01.07.2006 issued by the 2^nd petitioner imposing major penalty of dismissal from service and as confirmed by the 3^rd petitioner by order dated 17.02.2007, the 1^st respondent preferred O.A. No.1240 of 2007 before the A.P. Administrative Tribunal.

(e) In the above said O.A., the 1^st respondent has mainly contended that the charge memo dated 05.07.2004 and the consequential proceedings of dismissal from service issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Eluru, was without jurisdiction and he is incompetent to exercise such power. It was the specific pleaded case that in view of G.O.Ms.No.581, Revenue (SPE) Department, dated 24.05.1976 issued in pursuance to Presidential Order, more particularly Paragraph 11 thereof r/w Annexure-I, the appointing authority to the post of Lower Division Clerks being the Deputy Commissioner, the territorial jurisdiction over the revenue district of East Godavari and West Godavari District being conferred on Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Kakinada, he alone could have exercised the power and jurisdiction but not the Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Eluru i.e., t