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The State of Telangana & Anr. vs B. Subba Rayudu and Others

Not available · 2022 INSC 956Decided 14 Sept 2022
Not available
Indira Banerjee · V. Ramasubramanian

Background

When Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated into Telangana and residuary Andhra Pradesh in 2014, government employees had to be allocated between the two new states under central guidelines. The respondent, a Scheduled Tribe employee holding the post of Joint Director-Class A in the Animal Husbandry Department, opted for allocation to Telangana (where he was posted at the time and where his wife also worked), but the Union of India allotted him instead to Andhra Pradesh, citing lack of vacancy in Telangana and treating him as a "local candidate" of Andhra Pradesh based on his place of birth. He challenged this before the High Court, which ruled in his favour and directed his allocation and posting to Telangana. The State of Telangana and the Union of India appealed to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's decision, finding no infirmity warranting interference under Article 136 of the Constitution. It held that the respondent was the senior-most employee who had opted for Telangana (the three more senior officers had opted for Andhra Pradesh), and that under the applicable guidelines, seniority among those who opted for a state should have determined his allocation once posts remained available. The Court also found that the respondent qualified as a "local candidate" of Telangana since he completed his school education (Classes VIII-X) and all board/university examinations there, and that his spouse was a local candidate of Telangana too, both factors the authorities had wrongly disregarded. More broadly, the Court held that reorganisation guidelines are directory, not rigid, and must be read harmoniously with citizens' fundamental right under Article 19(1)(e) to reside and settle anywhere in India, since under the Constitution there is only one domicile: that of the country, not of individual states. The Special Leave Petitions were dismissed.

Lesson Learnt

Administrative guidelines governing employee allocation after state reorganisation cannot be applied in a rigid, hyper-technical manner that overrides seniority and genuine local ties (such as place of education or spouse's posting); they must be read flexibly and in harmony with citizens' constitutional right to reside and work anywhere in India.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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