- (1.) 1. The Petitioner was appointed as a Lower Division Clerk in the Labour Department of the Government of Andhra Pradesh on 14-2-1959. He was promoted as an Upper Division Clerk with effect from 26-7-1963. On completion of five years service in the category of upper division clerk he became eligible to be considered for appoinfment by transfer to the post of Assistant Inspectrr of Labour Grade I. He along with others, was interviewed by the Commissioner of Labour on 25-3-1970 and 26-3-1970. He was included in the panel prepared by the Commissioner of Labour under General Rule 4 of the Andhra Pradesh btate and Subordinate Services Rules on 17-6-1970. He was the seventeenth person in the panel. On 16-8-1971 the petitioner was appointed as Assistant Inspector of Labour under Rule 10(a)(i) (1)of the Andhra Pradesh btate and Subordinate Services Rules. He was informed tdat the appointment was purely temporary and liable to be terminated at any time without prior notice and without any reasons being assigned therefor. Later by a proceeding dated 16-9 1971 he was reverted as Upper Division Clerk. He has filed the present application questioning the order of reversion on the ground that his promotion as Assistant Inspector of Labour was a regular promotion though the order purported to mention Rule 10(a)(i)(1), He could not be reverted as his promotion was regular.
(2.) On behalf of the respondents it was contended that the promotion of the petitioner in September, 1971 was a temporary promotion in a casual vacancy which aro.se because of some officer having gone on leave. It was not a regular promotion, The panel prepared in 1970 lapsed by the end of August, 1971 and a fresh panel was again prepared in 1971, Out of the panel prepared for the year 1970 only fourteen persons could be appointed regularly before the panel lapsed. The petitioner was again included in the panel for the year 1971. But he was placed at Serial No. 17. The persons placed above him in the 1971 panel had to be appointed first and therefore the petitioner had to be reverted.
(3.) Rule 4 of the Andhra Pradesh State and Subordinate Service Rules prescribes that all first appointments to a service shall be made by the appointing authority from a list of approved candidates. The list of approved candidates should be prepared every year in the first week of September and should be in force upto the end of August of the succeeding year. Rule 10(a)(i)(1) provides for the temporary appointmeent of a parson otherwise than in accordance with the Rules where it is necessary in the public interest to fill emergontly a vacancy in a post if the filling of such vacancy in accordance with the rules is likely to result in undue delay. Rule 10(a)(i)(1) does not contemplate the temporary appointment of any person if it is possible to fill vacancy in accordance with the rules without delay.;