Recruitment test: Hyderabad High Court relief for non-Telangana candidates

CHENNAI: In a relief to the petitioner non-Telangana candidates, a division bench of the Hyderabad High Court on Wednesday directed the authorities of Telangana state southern power distribution company limited (TSSPDCL) and Telangana state transmission corporation (TS Transco) to permit the petitioners (non-Telangana persons) to appear for the direct recruitment test conducted by them for the posts of assistant engineers (electrical) and junior accounts officiers.

The bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice K Vijaya Lakshmi was passing this order in petitions filed separately by G Pavani and others and Ch Nikhil Kumar, belonging to various districts of Andhra Pradesh state, challenging the amendment made by the two electricity entities (TSSPDCL and TS Transco) where under all the posts in the entire state of Telangana were reserved to be filled up only by the persons of Telangana origin.

Accordingly, notifications were issued by  the TSSPDCL inviting applications only from the eligible Telangana candidates for filling up the posts of junior accounts officers and TS Transco for the posts of assistant engineers (electrical) by way of direct recruitment.

Petitioners’ counsel K Lakshmi Narasimha pointed out that the impugned notifications were issued in violation of Article 16(2) of the Constitution of India. The said two entities have got no power or jurisdiction to make such amendments thereby the nativity was made the sole criteria for being considered for the appointment. In fact, such a power was vested only with the President of India. Besides, the Presidential Order do not apply to these electricity entities, hence they do not come within Article 371-D of the Constitution. As the Parliament had not made any such provisions, the amendment made by them and the consequential notifications were not valid, he contended.