B.D.Agarwal, J. - (1.) The petitioner Dayanand Misra was a lower division clerk in the office of the Accountant General, U. P. Allahabad. An advertisement was made on January 10, 1965, inviting applications to constitute a panel for the posts of lower division clerk. The minimum educational qualification required was High School. The applicants were also required to possess minimum speed of 30 words per minute in English typing. The petitioner too was required to appear at the type-writing test held on 14th January 1965, where after he was interviewed and selected. A letter of appointment was issued to the petitioner on October 28, 1967. The appointment was temporary in the scale of Rs. 110-180. The petitioner joined his service on 16th November, 1967, and he continued to hold that post till September, 1975, and on that date his services were terminated with immediate effect. He made representation to the higher authorities against the termination of his service. He was reinstated by the order dated 5-11-1977. The petitioner was required against thereafter to appear at the type-writing test. He represented contended that he had been appointed initially after getting through the type-writing test. The representation was rejected and his services were terminated by the impugned order dated 17th March, 1980, with immediate effect providing that he shall be entitled to claim the pay plus the D.A. for a period of one months's notice. Aggrieved, the petitioner has invoked the powers of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution claiming relief of certiorari for quashing the order dated 17th March, 1980, and direction to the respondents that he be treated as continuing in service and eligible to the benefits thereof including the matter of confirmation and increments.
(2.) Learned Counsel for the petitioner argued that since the petitioner had passed typing test in 1965 before his initial appointment, the respondent could not insist on him to appear at that test again. Moreover, under the terms and conditions of service the petitioner could not be required to reappear at the typing test. It was further contended that the petitioner having been reinstated, there could be no question of imposing any condition for his passing the typing test. In order to consider the petitioner's contention it is necessary to refer to relevant Government orders on the subject.
(3.) The Central Government in the Ministry of Home Affairs, issued an office memorandum dated 15th September, 1956, according to which possession of speed in typing at 30 words per minute was prescribed as a pre-requisite qualification for appointment to the grade of lower division clerk. This was relaxed by the Office Memo dated 11th August, 1964, issued by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India as sufficient number of candidates with the requisite qualification were not available for appointment generally to the grade of lower division clerk. It was decided therefore, not to insist upon the typing qualification with the speed of 30 words per minute at the initial stage of recruitment to the grade of lower division clerk. This office memo provided that "in future for entry into service under the Government of India, possession of typing qualification need not be insisted upon in the case of lower division clerk but the persons so appointed w ill neither be eligible to draw increments in the pay scale nor will they be entitled to confirmation in the grade till they acquire the prescribed speed of 30 words per minute in typing". It was expressly mentioned that this office memo was not applicable to the Indian Audit and Accounts Department. On 8th May, 1967, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India extended the office memo dated 13th July, 1964 mentioned above to the Indian Audit and Accounts Department also "from the next recruitment onwards" specifying at the same time that these orders were not to apply to the existing lower division clerk or "those recruited before the end of the current recruitment year i. e. 30-9-1967. The result was that the relaxation introduced by the office memo dated 13th July, 1964 became applicable the Indian Audit and Accounts Service with effect from the recruitment year succeeding 30th September, 1967, in the case of recruitment made after 30th September, 1967. In other words, the qualification of possessing speed of 30 words per minute is the minimum in English typing was dispensed' with at the initial stage though the candidate was not entitled to confirmation or increment without having acquired this speed. The Accountant General, U. P., Allahabad, made a general order on July 26/29, to the effect that all lower division clerks appointed on or after October 1, 1967, were required to acquire the prescribed speed of 30 words per minute in typing and that those who failed to acquire the prescribed speed in typing, would not be eligible to get increment, nor were they to be entitled to confirmation. In pursuance of that order the petitioner was required to appear at typing test. It appears he failed to pass the typing test, hence his services were terminated, riven after his reinstatement he was again required to pass the typing test in the petitioner did not appear at the test, whereupon his services were terminated by the impugned order.;