THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE PULLA KARTHIK WRIT PETITION No.20272 of 2025

ORDER:

Aggrieved by the action of respondents in issuing promotion orders to the petitioner vide G.O.Rt.No.298, Health, Medical and Family Welfare (A) Department, dated 07.07.2025, despite her unwillingness to accept the promotion and also in declaring her present post as vacant vide notification dated 11.07.2025, the present Writ Petition is filed.

2. Heard Sri R. Anurag, learned counsel for the petitioner and learned Government Pleader for Services-I appearing on behalf of the respondents.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner has been discharging her services in the respondent-Department for more than 30 years, starting as Civil Assistant Surgeon in the year 1991 and is presently working as Professor of Radiotherapy at Kakatiya Medical College, Hanumakonda. While so, the respondents issued the impugned order vide G.O.Rt.No.298, Health, Medical and Family Welfare (A) Department, dated 07.07.2025, promoting the petitioner as Superintendent of Government General Hospital, Narayanpet. However, the petitioner is unwilling to accept the said promotion, on account of serious health issues of her husband, who is undergoing treatment and requires due care and attention. As such, the petitioner had expressed to the respondents her unwillingness to accept the said promotion through several representations, and also applied for voluntary retirement in February 2025. However, the respondents have not considered either of her requests till date, and unilaterally promoted and posted her as Superintendent of Government General Hospital, Narayanpet, and consequently, declared her present post as vacant. Therefore, the action of the respondents is wholly illegal, arbitrary, unjust, unreasonable, without jurisdiction, violative of principles of natural justice and infringement of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India, and also contrary to Rule 11 of the Telangana State and Subordinate Service Rules, 1966 (for brevity, ‘the Rules’).

4. It is further submitted that as per Rule 11 of the Rules, candidates who secured a promotion, are entitled to forego such promotion, and nobody can insist an employee to join the promotion post. It is submitted that the petitioner has submitted proper representations, agreeing to forego her promotion, and thus, the respondents are duty-bound to continue her in the cadre of Professor in respondent-College. However, contrary to Rule 11 of the Rules, and the terms of G.O.Rt.No.298, dated 07.07.2025, the respondents are taking steps to relieve her and fill her post with another person, and the same is illegal, arbitrary, and unjust. It is further submitted that in several cases, doctors who opted to forego promotion were retained in their existing posts without being forced to accept the promotion. It is submitted that one, Dr. Surya Prakash, was duly retained in the same post after he expressed his choice to forego his promotion. Similarly, in the 2024-Promotion Counseling, (11) Professors, who opted to forego their promotions, were retained. However, in case of the petitioner, for the reasons best known to them, the respondents are compelling her to accept the promotion, which action of the respondents is ex-facie illegal, unconstitutional and discriminatory. Therefore, learned counsel for the petitioner prays this Court to issue necessary directions to the respondents to accept her relinquishment and to continue her in the present post i.e., Professor at respondent-College.

5. Per contra, learned Government Pleader for Services-I, while admitting the facts that the petitioner was promoted as Professor in the year 2012 and has been working as such in the respondent-College, submits that the Government has promoted (44) Professors as Additional Director of Medical Education, Principals of Medical Colleges and Superintendents of Government General Hospital, and necessary posting orders were issued to the promoted