The Andhra Pradesh High Court directed the Government to post the services of the deputationists at the disposal of the Finance/Human Resources/Planning and Policy Department, for purpose of redeploying them appropriately to the need of the Government.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice A.V. Sesha Sai disposed of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed highlighting the fact that the functioning of the High Court would be affected adversely in case the employees working on deputation were repatriated.
The employees working in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunal came to be transferred on deputation to the High Court of Andhra Pradesh after the said Tribunal was abolished in the year 2020. Subsequently, the services of the said employees numbering 70 were sought to be recalled and an effort made to repatriate them, which resulted in filing of PIL.
Facts and figures were highlighted to suggest that on the relevant date, only 320 employees were present against various posts in various cadres of the High Court staff against the cadre strength of 990. It was suggested that if 70 employees were to be repatriated, the actual strength of the employees working in the Registry would be further reduced.
The existing employees of the High Court, however, having felt that their prospects of future promotion and also their status in the seniority list would be adversely affected if the employees who were brought on deputation were permitted to be absorbed in the services of the High Court, got themselves impleaded in the PIL and oppose the move of permanent absorption of the deputationists.
It is noted by the High Court that in the interregnum, options were given to the deputationists to opt whether they would like to be absorbed in the High Court services. Such an option was given to as many as 17 deputationists, however, no further action appears to have been taken based on such an option having been exercised.
The Bench was not made aware as to what was the basis for permitting some of the employees to opt for getting absorbed in the High Court Services in the absence of any rules permitting such an absorption.
Now the Court was informed by the counsel appearing for respondent that the strength of the employees in the High Court has since increased from 320 to 923, which is substantially higher and much closer to the total cadre strength of 990, and therefore, it was sought to be suggested that the dire need of retention of the deputationists which was felt at the time of filing the PIL, does not exist any longer.
In the background of the above mentioned facts, the Court is of the view that the deputationists who are working in the High Court need to be repatriated in view of the Communication dated 18th April, 2022 issued by the General Administration Department of the Government of Andhra Pradesh, which has expressed its willingness to treat them as ‘surplus’ and further to keep their services at the disposal of the Finance/Human Resources/Planning and Policy Department of the Government for redeploying them at an early date.