M V S JAYALAKSHMI Vs. SECRETARY ANDHRA PRADESH LEGISLATURE HYDERABAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Aliadi Kuppuswami, J.-The petitioners are Reporters in the Andhra Pradesh Legislature, Secretariat. They pray for the issue of an appropriate writ quashing G.O. Ms. No. 82 Legislature Department dated 4th September, 1979.

(2.) Under Article 187 (1) of the Constitution, the House or each House of the Legislature of a State shall have a separate secretariat staff. Article 187 (2) provides that the Legislature of State may by law regulate the recruitment, and the conditions of service of persons appointed to the secretariat staff of the House or Houses of the Legislature of the State. Article 187 (3) says that until provision is made by the Legislature of the State under clause (2), the Governor may, after consultation with the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly or the Chairman of the Legislative Council, as the case may be, make rules regulating the recruitment and the conditions of service of persons appointed to the secretarial staff of the Assembly or the council and! any rules so made shall have have effect subject to the provisions of any law made under the said clause. Till now, the Legislature of the State of Andhra Pradesh has not made any law regulating the recruitment and the conditions of service of the secretarial staff of the House of the Legislature of the State as envisaged under Article 187 (2).

(3.) Soon after the Constitution wa's enacted, in exercise of the powers conferred under Article 187 (3), G.O. Ms. No. 608 was made in the then composite State of Madras continuing all rules in force immediately before the commencement of the Constitution regulating the recruitment and conditions of service of the secretarial staff of the Madras Legislative Assembly and the Madras Legislative Council. After the formation of the State of Andhra Pradesh, G.O. No. 68, dated 10th January, 1955 was issued making all rules in force in the State of Madras on or before 1st October, 1953 regulating the recruitment and conditions of service of secretarial staff of the Madras Legislature applicable to the members of the secretarial staff of the Andhra! Legislative Assembly. Again, after the formation of the State of Andhra Pradesh, G.O. Ms. No. 1315, GAD, dated 28th August 1958 was issued directing that the Hyderabad Legislative Assembly Secretariat (Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1953 shall mutatis mutandis continue to be in force only in respect of persons appointed to the posts of the secretarial staff of the Andhra Pradesh Legislature for which there were no corresponding posts in the Andhra State Legislature before 1st November, 1956. The order was deemed to have come into force on 1st November, 1956. Thus, the Hyderabad Legislative Assembly Secretiarat (Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules and the rules governing the Madras Legislature which were made applicable to the State of Andhra Pradesh continued to be in force. Under the Hyderabad Rules, the Reporters of the Legislature secretariat were eligible for promotion as Assistant Secretaries if they were law graduates. But, under the Andhra Rules, the Reporters were not eligible for promotion. In the year 1968, they were made eligible for promotion by an amendment of the recruitment rules through G.O. Ms. No. 22, Legislature, dated 15th June, 1968. Subsequently, the posts of the Superintendents in the Legislature Secretariat were re-designated as Section Officers and they were made Gazetted posts though G.O. Ms. No. 4, Legislature, dated 9th February, 1968. The posts of Reporters were also made gazetted through G.O. Ms. No. 66, Legislature, dated 1st December, 1971. After the posts of the Section Officers and the Reporters in the Legislature Secretariat were made gazetted, it was felt necessary to issue fresh rules under Article 187 (3) of the Constitution regulating the conditions of service of the Legislature Staff. Accordingly, rules were made in G.O. Ms. No. 82,. dated 4th September, 1979. These Rules were made under Article 187 (3) of the Constitution by the Governor after consultation with the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and the Chairman of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council as required by the said provision. Under rule 2, the Legislature Service is to consist of four classes of officers namely, Class I: Secretary to Government, Class II: Deputy Secretaries to Government Class III: Assistant Secretaries to Government, Class IV: Category I. Section Officers: Category 2: Reporters: Category 3: Translators. Rule 3 provides that the Andhra. Pradesh State and Subordinate Service Rules the Andhra Pradesh Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964 and the Andhra Pradesh Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules for the time being in force shall apply to the members of the Service. Rule 4 provide that the appointing authority for the categories in Class IV shall be the Secretary to Government, Legislature Department. Rule 5 read with annexure provided that the Secretary to Government, Legislature should be appointed by promotion of the Joint Secretary to Government in the Legislature Department or for special reasons, by recruitment by transfer from the Andhra Pradesh State Legal Service or from the Andhra Pradesh State Higher Judicial Service. Deputy Secretaries are to be appointed by promotion from assistant Secretaries. The appointment as Assistant Secretaries are to be by promotion from Class IV provided that out of every four vacancies of Assistant Secretaries, three vacancies shall be filled by promotion of Section Officer in Category 1 of Class IV and one vacancy shall be filled by promotion of a Reporter or Translator in Category 2 or Category 3 of Class IV.