HON’BLE MRS. JUSTI CE SUREPALLI NANDA

WRI T PETI TI ON No.14016 of 2022

ORDER:

Heard Sri D. Balakishan Rao, learned counsel

appearing on behalf of petitioner, learned Assistant Government Pleader for Services-I , appearing on behalf of respondent No.1 and learned Assistant Government Pleader for Services-I I I , appearing on behalf of

respondent Nos.2 to 4.

2. The petitioner approached this Court seeking the

prayer as under:

“…to issue a Writ, order or direction more particularly one in the nature of Writ of Mandamus declaring the impugned Proc No.A5(2)/127/2021 dated 12-3-2022 issued by the 2^nd respondent as being illegal, arbitrary and subversive of Articles 14, 16 and 21 of the Constitution besides being contrary to law and consequently set aside the same and hold that the notional promotion awarded to the petitioner in the category of Senior Assistant and the consequential promotion to the cadre of Superintendent consequent on clean acquittal of the petitioner in criminal case No. 106/2018 in Old C.C. No.392 of 2010 on the file of the Honourable Additional Judicial Magistrate of 1^st Class, Yellandu dated 26-8-2019 is perfectly legal, valid and in

order with all consequential benefits including awarding notional promotion in the cadre of Superintendent and pass...”.

3. The case of the petitioner, in brief, is that the petitioner belongs to S.T. Community and was appointed as Junior Assistant on 12.04.1983 and was placed under suspension through Proc. No. A2/4413/04, dated 21.12.2004 on the ground that the petitioner had committed grave irregularities in drawing amounts from GPF slips of certain employees. The petitioner filed O.A. No. 5008 of 2006 before the APAT and basing on its order dated 13.10.2008 the suspension of the petitioner had been revoked and the petitioner joined duty on 13.07.2010. The Joint Director of Agriculture, Khammam passed order dated 25.12.2010 imposing punishment of stoppage of two annual grade increments with cumulative effect and the suspension period from 21.12.2004 to 12.07.2010 had been treated as ‘not on duty’. Subsequently, the petitioner was promoted as Senior Assistant on 02.07.2017.

3 (i). Further the case of the petitioner is that the authorities booked a criminal case against the petitioner for the self same charge vide CC. No. 392 of 2010 which was re-numbered as C.C.

106 of 2018 on the file of Additional Judicial Magistrate of I Class, Yellandu and the petitioner was acquitted in the said case. The 2^nd respondent issued Memo dated 02.03.2021 ordering notional promotion to the petitioner in the cadre of Senior Assistant on par with his junior with effect from 01.11.2006 and later the 2^nd respondent issued proceedings dated 28.06.2021 promoting the petitioner to the post of Superintendent in Zone V for the year 2020-2021. The petitioner made a representation to the 2^nd respondent dated 05.08.2021 requested to award the petitioner notional promotion in the cadre of Superintendent on par with his junior w.e.f. 12.07.2013.

3 (ii). On an earlier occasion, the petitioner filed W.P. No. 31032 of 2021 before this Court seeking to declare that he is entitled for awarding notional promotion in the cadre of Superintendent. Thereafter respondent No.2 issued show cause notice to petitioner to submit explanation as to why the Notional Promotion given to him in the cadre of Senior Assistant should not be cancelled. The petitioner had submitted detailed explanation to the show cause notice dated 29.12.2021 issued by the 2^nd respondent, subsequently, the respondent No.2 issued impugned Proceedings No.A5(2)/127/2021 dated 12.03.2022 cancelling the notional promotion awarded to the petitioner in the category of Senior Assistant and also promotion to the cadre of Superintendent. Aggrieved by the said action of the 2^nd respondent, the petitioner approached the Court by filing the present writ petition.

4. PERUSED THE RECORD A. This Court passed interim order dated 21.03.2022 in I .A. No.1 of 2022 in W.P. No. 14016 o