Pagilla Venkataiah vs District Collector

In this writ petition, the petitioner is seeking a writ of mandamus declaring the action of the respondents in not paying the salary to the petitioner from August, 2022 onwards, as illegal, arbitrary, discriminatory, unconstitutional and consequently to issue directions to the respondents to forthwith pay the salary from August, 2022 and to continue to pay the same every month on par with other employees in the Revenue Department and to pass such other order or orders.

Brief facts leading to the filing of the present writ petition are that the petitioner was appointed as a Village Revenue Officer (VRO) in the erstwhile Nalgonda District and after reorganization of the Districts, the petitioner was working under the jurisdiction of the respondent No.1. It is submitted that the State of Telangana enacted the Act No.10 of 2020, abolishing the post of VRO in the revenue department and consequently, the Government issued G.O.Ms.No.121, Finance Department, dated 23.07.2022, directing the District Collectors to deploy the VROs to various Departments other than the Revenue Department. It is submitted that the District Collectors hurriedly redeployed VROs to other Departments of other districts also contrary to the Presidential Order by order dated 01.08.2022 and the subordinate officers of the Collectors of the respective district, compelled the VROs to join the new Departments.

It is submitted that it was under in these circumstances that two VROs by name S.Sathaiah and G.Mahender approached this Court challenging the G.O.Ms.No.121, dated 23.07.2022 and other consequential orders and this Court, by order dated 04.08.2022, in I.A.No.1 of 2022 in W.P.No.31643 of 2022 has observed that “the deployment/transfer of the petitioners shall be subject to the final outcome of the writ petition and that the petitioners shall be at liberty to utilize the options available to them for not joining the duty immediately. It is also recorded that the Learned Special Government Pleader assured the Court that the Government is not using any coercive methods to make the petitioners or any VROs to join duty as per their deployment”. It is submitted that similarly, the Telangana Village Revenue Officers’ Association also filed W.P.No.31725 of 2022 challenging the very Act No.10 of 2020 and all other consequential orders including G.O.Ms.No.121, dated 23.07.2022 and the Division Bench of this Court, while issuing notice passed interim orders Staying the operation of G.O.Ms.No.121 dated 23.07.2022 prospectively observing that prima facie, the directions contained in Paragraph-3 of the G.O.Ms.No.121 are contrary to Section 4(1) of the Act No.10 of 2020. It is submitted that the petitioner herein is also one of the petitioners in W.P.No.31725 of 2022 and therefore, in view of the interim order granted by this Court in the said case, he did not join the other Department and is continuing in the Revenue Department. It is submitted that though the petitioner has not joined the new Department but is continuing in the Revenue Department by virtue of the interim order of this Court, the respondents are not releasing the salary from the months of August, 2022 onwards. Challenging the said action, the petitioner has filed the present writ petition.

Learned Senior Counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that as per the Act 10 of 2020 and the consequential G.O.Ms.No.121 dated 23.07.2022, it was decided to deploy the VROs to various Government Departments other than the Revenue Department and in the process, the petitioner and some other VROs were allotted to Mahatma Jyothiba Phule Backward Classes Welfare Residential Society instead of a Government Department. It is submitted that challenging the same, the petitioner and four others filed W.P.No.37724 of 2022 and the same is pending adjudication. It is submitted that since the petitioner is continuing in the Revenue Department as per the orders passed by this Court on 04.08.2022 and 08.08.2022, it is the obligation on the part of the authorities to utilize their services and pay the salary to the petitioner. When the salary was not paid to the petitioner, he submitted a representation dated 16.08.2022, but the authorities have not taken any decision on the same and thus, the petitioner has filed this writ petition seeking a direction to the respondents to pay salary from the months of August, 2022 onwards.

Learned counsel for the respondent No.1 has filed a counter affidavit stating that on the abolition of posts of VRO by Act No.10 of 2020, consequent G.O.Ms.No.121 dated 23.07.2022 was issued directing deployment of the VROs to various other Government Departments and accordingly, the writ petitioner was deployed to Mahatma Jyothiba Phule Telangana Backward Classes Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society, Nalgonda District, vide Proceedings No.A3/6160/2022, dated 01.08.2022. It is submitted that petitioner thereafter submitted his joining report before the Regional Coordinator on 02.08.2022 and requested for issuance of necessary posting orders and consequently, the posting order was issued to the petitioner as Junior Assistant in Mahatma Jyothiba Phule Telangana Backward Classes Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society, Nagarjuna Sagar, Nalgonda District vide Proceedings No.1408/A/2022, dated 02.08.2022 and therefore, the contention of the petitioner that he did not join the society as per the posting orders is not correct. It is further submitted that the Tahsildar, Nampally, has issued Last Pay Certificate to the petitioner upto 01.08.2022 and thereafter he was completely relieved from the Revenue Department and hence, the salary to the writ petitioner from 01.08.2022 is not feasible to be paid in the Revenue Department and his salary has to be paid only by the Mahatma Jyothiba Phule Telangana Backward Classes Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society at Nagarjuna Sagar. It is further submitted that the Regional Coordinator, Mahatma Jyothiba Phule Telangana Backward Classes Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society vide Lr.No.31/RCO/ NLG/2022-23, dated 05.12.2022 has reported that the writ petitioner is not attending to his duties till the date of the report without any intimation. It is submitted that the Government has identified the Department-wise posts for re-deployment of erstwhile VROs in the District and the number of existing vacancies of posts were approved for re-deployment in each Department in the District, as indicated in the Annexure in Circular Memo No.1634052-B/186/A1/HRM.VII/2022, dated 26.07.2022. Further, in the said Circular, the Government has issued instructions that the allotment to Departments shall be done by way of drawal of lots in a transparent manner in the presence of senior officers, duly videographing the entire process. It is further submitted that once the Department is allotted, the District Head will give posting orders in the existing vacancies and accordingly, the petitioner has been allotted to Backward Classes Welfare Department and was posted to Mahatma Jyothiba Phule Telangana Backward Classes Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society in the drawal of lots and the petitioner having joined the new department can only draw salary from the said institution and not from Revenue Department and since the petitioner was not attending to his duties, he was not paid salary. He therefore prayed for dismissal of the writ petition.

Learned counsel for the petitioner has filed a reply to the counter affidavit stating that as per the Act 10 of 2020 and the consequential G.O.Ms.No.121, the ex-VROs ought to have been allotted to the Junior Assistant posts in the Government Departments, but not in local bodies or Societies or Corporations, etc., but because of non-availability of vacancies and to complete the process of allotment without any delay and because of the pressure put in by the then Chief Secretary, the concerned District Collectors were compelled to make mistakes and commit irregularities and illegalities and as such the petitioner was deprived of his right under Articles 14, 16 and 21 of the Constitution of India. It is submitted that the allotment of the petitioner to the Society is in violation of provisions of Act 10 of 2020 and that the said allotment has already been challenged by the petitioner and others in the writ petition before this Court. It is submitted that the contention of the respondents that the petitioner has joined the duty from 02.08.2022 is incorrect, as on that day, the petitioner was in Hyderabad City visiting the C.C.L.A Office, Advocate Office, etc., and on 03.08.2022, the petitioner and other ex-VROs belonging to the District Association had protested before the Office of the District Collector, Nalgonda. It is therefore submitted that the petitioner is continuing in the Revenue Department as per the interim direction of this Court dated 08.08.2022 and the respondents are liable to pay the salary to the petitioner as working in Revenue Department only.

In reply to the same, the learned counsel for the respondents have filed additional counter affidavit stating that the petitioner has submitted his joining report on 02.08.2022 before the Regional Coordinator, Mahatma Jyothiba Phule Telangana Backward Classes Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society, Nalgonda District and subsequently, the Regional Coordinator, Nalgonda, scanned all the requisite documents of VROs allotted to their Department including the writ petitioner on the same day and those scanned joining reports were submitted to the Secretary, Mahatma Jyothiba Phule Telangana Backward Classes Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society, Hyderabad through e-mail for issuance of posting orders and the Secretary in turn vide Proceedings No.1408/A/2022, dated 02.08.2022 posted the writ petitioner as Junior Assistant at Mahatma Jyothiba Phule Telangana Backward Classes Welfare Residential School (B), Nagarjuna Sagar, Nalgonda District. It is submitted that the petitioner has filed a representation on 06.09.2022 before the Regional Coordinator, Nalgonda, stating that the petitioner reported to duties, but he has filed a W.P.No.31725 of 2022 before this Court along with other VROs against their deployment and requested to treat his case as non-joining till the disposal of said writ petition. Thus, it is stated that the petitioner has intentionally failed to attend to duties to take shelter under the interim stay orders issued in I.A.No.1 of 2022, dated 03.11.2022 in W.P.No.37669 of 2022 by the Court in other VROs case. It is further submitted that the Regional Coordinator, Nalgonda vide letter dated 17.04.2023, has reported that on 06.09.2022, the writ petitioner came to their office for filing a representation dated 05.09.2022 and after filing of the same, he has requested the Data Entry Operator, Nalgonda, to give his joining report dated 01.08.2022 to take a Photostat copy of the same as he has no copy and trusting him, the copy was given to him, but instead of handing over the letter after taking a copy, the petitioner has taken away the original copy and therefore, the Regional Coordinator has filed a Police complaint on 17.04.2023 with a request to investigate into the matter and take action on the same. Stating the above, it is prayed that the writ petition be dismissed. Further, along with the counter affidavit a copy of the joining report dated 01.08.2022 and the re-deployment orders dated 02.08.2022 and the alleged representation of the petitioner dated 05.09.2022 are filed. The copy of the report of Regional Coordinator dated 17.04.2023 addressed to the District Collector, Nalgonda, about the action of the petitioner in taking away the joining report is also filed along with the counter affidavit. The copy of the report dated 14.04.2023 of Date Entry Operator about the incident of taking away the joining report by the petitioner is also filed.

Having regard to the rival contentions and the material on record, this Court finds that the petitioner had filed a writ petition before this Court and this Court by way of interim direction observed that the VROs who have not yet been re-deployed, shall be continued in the Revenue Department. The contention of the petitioner is that the petitioner has never joined the Department to which he has been deployed and therefore, he is deemed to be continuing in the Revenue Department and he should be paid the salary from August, 2022 onwards by the Revenue Department. His further contention is that by virtue of Act 10 of 2020, he could only be deployed to Government Departments other than Revenue Department and not to any Society under the Backward Classes Welfare Department and hence the deployment is not in accordance with the provisions of Act 10 of 2020 and G.O.Ms.No.121, dated 23.07.2022.

The respondents on the other hand, have produced the copy of the Circular Memo No.1634052-B/186/A1/HRM.VII/2022M, dated 26.07.2022 whereunder the number of existing vacancies of posts identified and approved for re-deployment in each department in the district is indicated in the annexure to the circular. In the annexure the Backward Welfare Department is shown to have 30 available vacancies for VROs re-deployment and in the said department there are 26 vacancies in the Mahatma Jyothiba Phule Telangana Backward Classes Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society. Thus, it is obvious that the Mahatma Jyothiba Phule Telangana Backward Classes Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society is also a Society working under the Backward Class Welfare Department and therefore, he is deployed to Backward Classes Welfare Department and therefore, the petitioner argument that he was not deployed to a Government Department, but he was deployed to a Society, does not appear to be correct. However, vide interim orders of this Court in the case of very petitioner himself i.e., in W.P.No.31725 of 2022, dated 08.08.2022 the Division Bench was that in respect of those Village Revenue Officers, who have not yet been re-deployed, their services shall be continued in the parent department i.e., Revenue Department and that they shall be allotted commensurate work and paid their due emoluments until further orders. The petitioner is seeking umbrage under this order for not reporting to the duty in the Mahatma Jyothiba Phule Telangana Backward Classes Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society, whereas the Government is relying upon the joining report allegedly given by the petitioner to the Regional Coordinator, Mahatma Jyothiba Phule Telangana Backward Classes Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society, Nalgonda District on 01.08.2022. The signature on the affidavit filed by the petitioner along with the writ petition and the joining report which is placed at Page No.19 of the counter affidavit appears to be similar to the naked eye except for small variations. Therefore, it has to be presumed that the joining report submitted by the Department is true and correct.

10 As per the observation of the Division Bench of this Court, the second petitioner i.e., petitioner herein had also joined in the Backward Classes Welfare Department by the date of passing of the interim order. However, the petitioner seems to have submitted a representation on 16.08.2022 for payment of salary from August, 2022 onwards. Subsequently, vide orders dated 13.09.2022 in W.P.No.35555 of 2022 this Court had granted liberty to the Association and its members i.e., VROs who are not being paid salaries, to approach the authorities by making a representation and after receipt of such representation, the concerned authorities were directed to consider and pass appropriate orders thereon within a period of two weeks from the date of receipt of such representation. The petitioner does not seem to have made any representation thereafter either to the Revenue Department or to the Backward Classes Welfare Department. Therefore, since the factum of the petitioner continuing in Revenue Department seems to be in dispute, this Court deems it fit and proper to direct the respondents to consider his representation dated 16.08.2022 and also any fresh representation, made by the petitioner within a period of one (1) month from the date of passing of this order, and pass appropriate orders thereon within a further period of two (2) months thereafter and release the salary to the petitioner as per his eligibility at the earliest, preferably within a period of three (3) months thereafter.

Accordingly, this writ petition is disposed of. There shall be no order as to costs.

Miscellaneous petitions, if any, pending in this writ petition, shall stand closed.