Holding

The recruitment rules do not confer an automatic right of appointment to inmates or ex‑inmates; preference applies only when candidates are equally meritorious, and the respondents were not entitled to appointment.

Summary

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) recruited attenders for 297 vacancies in 1991, considering 2,944 candidates from the Employment Exchange and 193 inmates/ex‑inmates of the Shri Venkateshwara Balamandir. After written tests and interviews, 53 of the 193 inmates/ex‑inmates were selected; the remaining applicants, including the respondents, were not. The respondents filed writ petitions claiming that, as former inmates, they were entitled to automatic appointment or at least preference over other candidates. The High Court allowed the petitions, directing TTD to appoint the respondents, but TTD appealed. The Supreme Court held that the recruitment rules provide only a preference for inmates/ex‑inmates when they are equally meritorious, not an automatic right to appointment, and that the respondents were not found fit for selection. Consequently, the High Court’s direction was erroneous and was set aside. The appeals were allowed and the writ petitions dismissed.

Issues considered

Whether inmates and ex‑inmates of Shri Venkateshwara Balamandir are entitled to automatic appointment in TTD or only a preference when equally meritorious.
Whether the High Court erred in directing appointment of respondents who were considered but not found fit for selection.
Interpretation of Rule 6(b) of the TTD recruitment rules regarding preference for inmates.

Subjects

appointmentpreferenceinmatesex‑inmatesrecruitment rulesselection processwrit petitionadministrative lawdiscrimination

Judgment

A EXECUTIVE OFFICER ETC. ETC.
v.
E. TIRUPALU AND ORS. ETC. ETC.

MARCH 26, 1996

B [J.S. VERMA AND B.N. KIRPAL, JJ.]

Se1Vice Law :

Timmalu Tirnpati Devasthanams-Appointment of attenders-!nmates
C and ex-inmates of Shri Venkateshwara Balamandir eligible for consideration
without their names being sponsored by employment exchange-Written test
and interview held for selection-Some of ex-inmates not selected filing writ
petition claiming appointment 011 the ground of preference-Held, mies do
not provide for automatic appointment of inmates/ex-inmates-Candidates
who were considered for appointment and not found fit for selection cannot
D claim appointment.
Inmates and ex-inmates of Shri Venkateshwara Balamandir, an
Orphanage for orphans and destitnde children, established by the
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, were eligible for consideration to be
appointed in the service of the Devasthanams as per rules of recruitment
E
in vogue, without their names being sponsored by the Employment Ex-
change. In the year 1991 there were 297 vacancies for the post of attenders
for which 2944 candidates sponsored by the Employment Exchange and
193 candidates being inmates and ex-inmates of the Balamandir, including
the respondents, were considered. Selections were made by holding written
F test and interview, and 53 inmates/ex-inmates of the Balamandir were
selected besides the other candidates.

The respondents, who were ex-inmates of the Balamandir and could
not be selected, filed writ petitions before the High Court claiming that
they ought to have been treated at par with the inmates and given
G preference in appointment under the Devasthanams. The stand of the
Devasthanams was that there could not be any automatic employment
given to all the inmates and ex-inmates and the rules only provide that
amo,ngst the equals, inmates would be given preference. The High Court
allowed the writ petitions. Aggrieved, the Devasthanams filed the present
H appeals.
904
EXECUTIVE OFFICER v. E. TIR UP ALU [KIRPAL, J .] 905

Allowing the appeals, this .court A
HELD : 1. The High Court erred in issuing .the direction which had
the effect of granting appointment to the· respondent even though they were
considered but were not found to be lit for selection. In the circumstances,
no relief could have been granted to the respondents. [911-D-E]
B
2. The very fact that interviews for selection of attenders were held
shows that the suitability of the candidates for appointment had to be
judged and that appointment of the inmates/ex-inmates was not automatic.
: [911-B]:
3. On the facts of the present case, the distinction between inmates C
and ex-inmates of the Balamandir loses all relevance because out of the
193 inmates/ex-inmates considered for appointment 53 were selected; and
in comparison to th~ candidates who were selected, the respondents were
obviously not found to be ·equally me~itorious. (911-B-C]

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal Nos. 4507· D
.4514 of 1996 Etc. Etc.

From the Judgment and Order dated 17.11.94 of the Andhra Pradesh
High Court in W.P ..Nos. 13123, 20032, 20161, 20499, 18205, 12498/93,
16449/94 and 7927 of 1992. ' '
E
A. Subba Rao for the Appellants .

. L.N.· Rao, T,N. Rao, V. Jagapahti, S. Udaya Kr. Sagar and Ms.
Suman Bala Rastogi for the Respondents.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by F
KIRPAL, J. ,The Tiruinala Tirupati Devasthanams, the appellant
herein, started Sri Venkateshwara Balamandir which is an Orphange for
orphans and destitute children for providing free boarding, lodging, cloth-
ing and education upto the age of 18 years so as to enable them to· acquire
good education and get employment. According to lhe appellants when an G
inmate/ex.inmate of the Balamandir is qualified and eligible to a post in
Devasthanams, he is considered along with other inmates as per the rules
of recruitment in vogue. The Executive Officer of the Devasthanams on
23.4.1980 recorded· proceedings, inter alia, to the effect that every
Balamandir candidate should be given maximum .education and when he H
906 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1996) 3 S.C.R.

A has completed the same, he should be provided with the employment in
Devasthanams as a matter of rou[ine without reference to employment
Exchange. It was further recorded that till they are given jobs in Devas-
thanams, they will be continued in the Balamandir.

At the request of the appellant,· the Government exempted the
B inmates/ex-inmates of the Balamandir from the purview of Employment
Exchange by order dated 5.6.1982. The ex-inmates are those who are
discharged from· the Balamandir. Rule· 5 of the Rules framed by the
Devasthanams deals with discharge from the Balamandir and Rules 6,
which deals with personal records and Rule 8 which refers to disqualifica-
C lion from being entitled to any benefit, are as under :

5: Discharge

~· (a) All the inmates who attain the age of 18 years shall be
discharged at the end of the academic year in which they complete
D the age of 18 years;

(b) In case the parent/guardian of the inmate requests for
premature discharge of the inmate such request will be considered
on personal grounds. If the Management considers that such
request is genuine and justifies the premature discharge of the
E inmates, the discharge may be considered.

(c) Any inmate who fails or is detained in any class will be
discharged forthwith.

(d) Indiscipline will not be tolerated. The Manager, Bala Man-
F dir will report cases of indiscipline to the Devasthanams Educa-
tional Officer. The Devasthanams Educational Officer will give
warning for not more than two occasions during the whole career
to the inmate. A third case of indiscipline may result in discharge.
Absence from prayer without permission of the Manager will be
G treated asindiscipline.

(6) PERSONAL RECORDS
y
"Dosiers" will have to be maintained for each inmate giving
out and particulars of admission, medical check-up report, and
H progress report and cases of discipline etc., Jn short, should be a
' EXECUTIVEOFFICERv.KTIRUPALU[KIRPAL,J.] 907

personal record of the concerned inmate during his stay in the A
Bala Mandir.

(a) The personal record will be reviewed by the Devasthanams ·
Educational
·•
Officer once in a .vear.

{b) The personal records win be taken into consideration ivhile B
consid«ring.the inmates case for giving preference in appointment
in TTD . .

(c) The personal record will be received by the Dev. Educa-
tional Officer once in a year.
I. c
{d) As far as _possible the inmates of Bafa Mandir will be
absorbed in the various institutions of the TTD subject to their
being eligible 'and suitable.·

(8) DISQUALIFICATION
D
. If an inmate is ordered to be removed on the ground of
punishment or on the ground of admission furnishing false infor-
mation such inmate shall not be entitled to any benefit as an inmate
of the Bala.Mandir. An entry shall be made against this name in
the ad~ssion registe/ and other releva~t registers to _indicate the E
disqualification.

The above enclosures, 'therefore, piaced before the Manage-
ment committee and Board for its approval of the "norms formu-
. lated now inregard io S.V. Bala tvfandir, Tirupati."
F
The respondents being ex-inmates of the ~alamandir, who have filed
separate writ petitions in the High Court pf Andhra Pradesh, had been
discharged from the ·said Institution though they had not completed their
education. In the year 1991, there were 297 vacancies for the post of
Attenders. According to the counsel for the appellant, the practice of the
appellant was that all the inmates of the Balamandir are considered for G
appointment if they are qualified without their having to make any applica-
"I tion. The qualification required for being appointed as an attender is that
the candidate should have passed class ·VIII. The ex-inmates were also
. entitled to be considered or appointment and though they were not re-
quired to apply lhrnugh the Employment Exchange they were required to H
\./

908 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1996] 3 S.C.R.

A apply directly. Names were also sponsored by the Employment Exchange
and for the 297 vacancies, 2944 candidates were sponsored by the Employ-
ment Exchange and 193 candidates were the inmates and ex-inmates of the
Balamandir, including the respondents who were considered. As the num-
ber of candidates were more then the number of vacancies, selection took
place by the Authorities by holding written test and interview. It is stated
•
B that out of 193 inmates/ex-inmates of the Balamandir, only 145 appeared
at the written test and interview and 53 from amongst them were selected
for the post of Attenders.

The respondents, not having been selected for the aforesaid posts of
C Attenders, filed different writ petitions which. were disposed of by the
common judgment which is impugned in these Appeals. The contention of
the respondents. before the High Court was that they should be treated at
par with inmates and they should also be given preference in appointment
under the Devasthanams. On behalf of the applicant the recruitment was
D made by selection from eligible candidates and it was brought to the.notice
. of the High Court that on 30/31.3.1994, the Devasthanam passed a Resolu-
tion relating to ex-inmates. The suggestion of the Sub-Committee, which
was put. before the Devasthanams Board, is as under :

"l. (i) The inmates of S.V. Bala,Mandir who are discharged
E except on the following grounds discharged except on the following
grounds need not be considered as ex-inmates for sending call
letters for the interviews and for such other benefits, if any.

(a) Inmates with good personal record and discharged on
successful completion of education and after attaining the age of
F
18 years of age.

(b) Inmates with good personal record but discharged on
failure in ariy class.

G (11) The orders issued by the then Executive Officer, TIDs in
Memo Roe. No. E3/10110/79, dated 23.4.1980 regarding the ap-
pointment of inmates ofS.V: Bala Mandir in TIDs service without
subjecting them for ani.-selection and also to continue them in the
.orphange till they are given jobs in T-T- Devasthanams may be
H nullified so as to avoid court litigations."
EXECUTIVE OFFICER v. E. TIRUPALU [KIRPAL, J.] 909

On this suggestion, the following resolution was passed on 30/31.3.1994 : A
"Proposal at (1). may be approved except that inmates dis-
charged on failure in any class may not be considered as ex-in-
mates. Proposal (JI) also approved."

The High Court in our opinion rightly, came to the ·conclusion that B
the aforesaid Resolution of 30/31.3.1994 had no application to the present
case presumably because the selection had been ·made for appointment io
the 297 vacancies in the year 1991. The High Court theugave the following
direction:

. "From the above ·discussion it follows ·that the cases of the
c
former inmates will have to be considered on the basis of the
position obtaining under the resolution No. 307, dated 27.10.1984
and their cases have to be considered in terms of clauses {b) and
{d) of Rule (6).
. ' . D
In view of the above, writ petition No. 13123 of 1993 has to be
allowed and accordingly, it is allowed ..

Accordingly, Writ Petition Nos. 7927/92, 20032/93, 20161/90,
20499/94, 18205/93, 12498/98 and 16449/94 are also allowed .. No E
costs.11.,

On behalf of the appellant, it is contended tha.t all .the respondents
were considered for being appointed to the post of Attenders but they were
·not found fit. Most of the persons who were selected were those who had
been sponsored by the Employment Exchange. The thrust of the argument · F
of Mr. A Subba Rao, learned counsel for the appellant was ihat there could
not be any automatic employment given to all the inmates .and ex-inmates
and that clause 6{b) of the Rules only meant that if all things are equa~
then the inmates will be given preference for appointment under the
Devasthanams. In the present case, the effect of allowing the writ petitions
filed by the respondents was that the appellants were now directe.d to G ·
appoint the respondents as attenders even though they had not been found.
. fit for such appointments. It may here be noticed that one .cif the prayers
in the writ petitions was that the non-selection of the petitioners should be
treated as arbitrary and discriminatory and the appellants herein should be
directed to appoint the writ petitioners in accordance with the existing •H
910 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1996] 3 S.C.R.

A rules regarding appointments of candidates to the balamandir. While dis-
posing of the Wiit petitions, the High Court held that the Writ Petitions
were allowed. The implication of this .was that the reliefs prayed for in the
Writ Petitions stood granted in toto.

It is quite evident, from the facts enumerated hereinabove that on
B prejudice could be regarded to have been caused to the respondents by
their being regarded as ex-inmates. The total number of vacancies which
were available were more than the total number of candidates who were
inmates and ex-inmates. It is unfortunate that these in-house candidates
were not selected. Oause (b) of Rule 6 which refers to preference being
C given to the inmates in appointment in the Devasthanams does not and \
cannot imply that irrespective of the merits of the candidates, the inmates
have to be given appointments. The appellants have rightly resorted to the
procedure of making selection from the inmates, ex-inmates and general
candidates who were eligible, by holding written test/interviews and clause
6 can only mean that with the merits of the candidates being equal,
D preference would be given to the inmates of the Balamandir.

The reference by the High Court to the proceedings of the Executive
Officer on 23.4.1980 is also mis-placed. The passage on which reliance is •
placed is as follows :
E "Some of the present inmates of S.V. Bala Mandir, Tirupati
have appeared for interview on 12.2.1980 for ~ppointment in TTD
though they are still studying in the college.

The Special Officer, S.V. Bala Mandir, Tirupati is informed
F that the case of the present inmates of S.V. Bala Mandir, Tirupati
for appointment in TTD will be considered after their completion
of studies. Every Bala Mandir candidate should be given maximum
education he would like to have. As and when he finished the
education, he would be provided employment in TTD as a matter
of routine without reference to Employment Exchange. Till they
G are given ]obs in TTD, they will be continued in the Bala Mandir.

EVery year, the Special Officer, S.V. Bala Mandir, Will send a
list three or four months in advance about all the candidates who
would be completing education or completing their age and eligible
H for employment."
\,/

EXECUTIVE OFFICER v. Eff!R UP ALU [KIRP AL, J.] 911

The aforesaid proceedings merely state that interviews were held for A
appointment under the Devasthanams even as far back as in1981. It further
states that the present inmates will .be considered for appointment after
their completion of studie~ and.they'will be given employment as matter a
of routine without reference to the Employment Exchange. The very fact
that interviews were held even in 1991 shows that the suitability of the
candidates for appointment had to be judged and that appointment of the
B
inmates/ex-inmates was not automatic: On the facts of the present case, the
distinction between inmates and ex-inmates loses all relevance because 193
inmates/ex-inmates were considered for appointment and 53 of them were
selected. In comparison to the candidate·s who were selected, the respon-
-i
dents were obViously not found to be equally meritorious. Counsel for the C
respondent has not been able to show .that a,t any point of tiine, there was
a promise 0r ,an obligation on the .part of Devasthanams to give employ-
ment to the inmates, even if .it is presumed that the ex-inmates like the
respondents have to be treated at par with the inmates. Under these .
circumstances, the High Court clearly erred in issuing the direction which D
had the effect of granting appointment to the respondents even though they
were considered but were !lot foµnd io be fit for selection. The High Court
ought to have held that there could be no automatic employment of inmates
and ex-inmates by the appellant and that ihey had to' .go through a process
of selection. There was a selection in the year 1991 when the respondents
were considered but Were found not to be fit for selection and no relief E •
coUJd h~ve'been ~~nted· t~ th'e re~pondents: • ~- . . • .
'~ . .• ' ••l •., . • ... .. .., I. . . ~

,, ·The appeals are, accordingly, allowed. The impugned Jtldgnient of
the High Court is setaside, the effect of which is that thewrit petitions
filed by .the respondents. sh~ll sfand ·dismissed. There. shall be· no order as '
to costs. 1;. ., L -·~~- -~ ·• • ··v~ · -· p··.
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R.~ ... , · · -,, · ""• ·•Appeals allowed.
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