IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

DATED : 09.03.2018

CORAM

THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE T.RAJA

W.P.No.5279 of 2018

S.Kanagasundaram

..

Petitioner

-vs-

1. The District Collector

Collectorate

Nagapattinam District

2. The District Revenue Officer

Collector Office

Nagapattinam & District

3. The Revenue Divisional Officer

Revenue Divisional Office

Nagapattinam & District

..

Respondents

Prayer :

Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of

India, praying for the issue of a Writ of Certiorarified

Mandamus, calling for the records from the respondent pertaining

to the impugned Memo Na.Ka.No.24899/2016 A2 dated 29.01.2018

issued by the first respondent and quash the same and

consequently to direct the respondent Nos.1 & 2 to demote the

petitioner from the post of Revenue Inspector to the Village

Administrative Officer.

For Petitioner :: Mr.G.Saravana Kumar

For Respondents :: Mr.R.S.Selvam

Government Advocate

ORDER

This writ petition has been filed challenging the impugned

order dated 29.1.2018 passed by the District Collector,

Nagapattinam refusing to accept the request of the petitioner

for demotion to the post of Village Administrative Officer from

the post of Revenue Inspector, on the ground that there is no

provision to go back to the lower post, therefore, his request

under Rule 9(B) stands rejected.

https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/

2. Learned counsel for the petitioner, assailing the

impugned order, submitted that when the petitioner was serving

as Village Administrative Officer from 7.1.2008, on completion

of long number of years of service, was given promotion to the

post of Revenue Inspector on 19.8.2016. After joining the said

post, he has been doing the work sincerely. But his family

circumstances compelled him not to continue in the post of

Revenue Inspector, as it has been burdened with heavy load of

work. In view thereof, he has decided to get demoted from the

post of Revenue Inspector to the original post of Village

Administrative Officer. Mentioning the said reason, he has also

given a representation on 21.11.2016 to the District Collector,

Nagapattinam to send him back by way of demotion to the post of

Village Administrative Officer. But the said request has been

rejected by the impugned order, which is running contrary to two

of the orders enclosed in the typedset of papers, namely, one

passed by the District Revenue Officer, Tirunelveli dated

25.8.2015 and another passed by the District Revenue Officer,

Kancheepuram dated 12.1.2017.

3. A perusal of the aforementioned orders does not show the

reason for acceding to the request of the officers therein

seeking demotion to the lower post. But in the present case,

the reason given by the District Collector, Nagapattinam that

Section 47(1) and (2) of the Tamil Nadu Government Servants

(Conditions of Service) Act, 2016 failed to support the case of

the petitioner for his demotion, is in order. Secondly, the

representation given by the petitioner does not show any single

reason for his demotion to the post of Village Administrative

Officer, because nowhere he has pleaded with the health ground

or administrative ground or family ground for his decision to go

back to the post of Village Administrative Officer, which is

only lower in rank. Thirdly, he has not specified whether he has

relinquished his promotion for a particular period, namely,

three years or more than three years. In that view of the

matter, the first respondent-District Collector, Nagapattinam

has rightly rejected the request of the petitioner. I also do

not find any infirmity or flaw in the impugned order.

Accordingly, the writ petition fails and it is dismissed. No

costs.

Sd/-

Assistant Registrar(CS VII)

//True Copy//

Sub Assistant Re