HON’BLE MRS. JUSTI CE SUREPALLI NANDA WRI T PETI TI ON No. 25693 OF 2023

ORDER:

Heard Sri Gurram Srinivas, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner and the learned Assistant Government Pleader for Services–I appearing on behalf of the respondents.

2. The petitioner approached this Court by filing the present writ petition seeking prayer as under:

“…..to issue an order or direction more particularly one in the nature of Writ of Mandamus to declare the action of the respondents in inserting the condition to the petitioner vide Proc. Rc.No.13-A4/2017 dated 03-03-2017, to pass Accounts Test Part-1, within a period of 2 years while sanctioning of special promotion post scale- II, on completion of 24 years of service ignoring the fact that the petitioner is left over service of only 1 year, and also issued recovery proceedings vide Rc.No.13-A4/2017, dated 10-07-2020, recovering the amount of Rs.99,000/- from the petitioner due to not passing the accounts test and not imposing the same condition to the colleagues of the petitioners as highly illegal, unconstitutional against the principles of natural justice against the Article-14 of our constitution and prays to set aside the recovery proceedings vide Rc.No.13-A4/2017, dated 10.07.2020, with a direction to the respondents herein to pay the deducted amount of Rs.99,000/- to the petitioner and also direct the respondents to add the benefit of Spl. Promotion Post Scale-II, in the pension of the petitioner and also release all the consequential monetary benefits and pass......”

3. The case of the petitioner, in brief, is that the petitioner was appointed as Librarian Grade-III on 19.01.1982 and retired on 31.03.2018 without promotion, and is receiving a pension of around Rs.41,000/- per month. The petitioner was granted the 24 year Special Promotion Post Scale-II (SPPS-II) in 2017, with a condition to pass the Accounts Test Part-I within two years, failing which increments would be withheld. The petitioner claims this condition was not imposed in earlier AAS scales or in similar cases of colleagues who now receive higher pensions. Aggrieved by the same, the petitioner filed the present writ petition.

PERUSED THE RECORD:

A) The relevant portion of the proceedings of the respondent No.3-the Director of Public Libraries, Telangana vide proceedings Rc.No.13-A4/ 2017, dated 03.03.2017 issued to the petitioner herein is extracted hereunder:

“Sri A.Nampalli, Librarian Grade – III, Zilla grandhalaya Samsha, Karimnagar is appointed to the Special Promotion Post Scale – II on completion of 24 years of service, subject to condition that [“he should pass the Accounts Test Part – I within the period of two years from the date of DPL proceedings of sanction of Spl. Promotion Post Scale – I I , failing which he shall not be eligible to draw future increments in the time scale of pay applicable to him, till he qualify the accounts test for Subordinate Officers Part – I ].

Sri A.Nampalli, Librarian Grade – I I I , Zilla Grndhalaya samstha, Karimnagar is hereby informed that if any excess amount is paid to him, due to erroneous fixation of pay the same will be recovered from him in lump sum without prior notice, as and when it is noticed, in future.

The receipt of these proceedings should be acknowledged forthwith.”

B) The counter affidavit has been filed on behalf of the respondent No.4 in W.P No.27387 of 2023 which had been filed by one Mr. M.Narender Reddy, with an identical prayer as sought for by the petitioner in the present writ petition challenging an identical impugned proceedings as issued to the petitioner herein in the present case issued by the 4^th respondent herein to the petitioner thereunder, and in particular, paragraph No.11 is extracted hereunder:

“it is submitted that respondents in inserting the condition to the petitioner vide proc. Rc.No.13-A4/2017, dated 03.03.2017 to pass Accounts Test part-I within a period of 2 years while sanctioning of Special Promotion Post Scale-II on co