CASE NO.: Appeal (civil) 4343 of 1988 PETITIONER: SOUTH CENTRAL RAILWAY EMPLOYEES CO-OP. CREDIT SOCIETY UNION, SECUNDERABAD RESPONDENT: REGISTRAR OF CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES AND ORS. DATE OF JUDGMENT: 13/01/1998 BENCH: S. SAGHIR AHMAD & G.B. PATTANA1K JUDGMENT:
JUDGMENT
1998 (1) SCR 85
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
G.B. PATTANAIK, J. The appellant is a society registered under the Andhra
Pradesh Co-operative Societies Act and the members of the society are the
employees of South Central Railway. The society in turn maintains certain
staff members for running the affairs of the society. The service
conditions of such employees of the society governed by the b\e-iaws of the
society. Bye law 33 of the society is empowered the committee of management
to frame service regulation pertaining to the service conditions of the
officers and the employees of the society. Pursuant to the aforesaid power
the society has framed a set of rules with the approval of the Registrar of
Co-operative Societies determining the service conditions of the employees
of the society. The said rules of society categorically provided that there
should be no reservation in promotions of the employees of the society. The
private respondents filed a wvrit petition No. 8051 of 1982 challenging the
order of cancellation of their appointment dated 10.8.1982 and that writ
petition was allowed by the learned single Judge of the Andhra Pradesh High
Court. On an appeal being filed by the present appellant the Division Bench
of the High Court dismissed the appeal and affirmed the judgment of the
learned single Judge. It may be stated that the private respondents were
given promotions on 9.8.1982 to various promotional posts by applying the
principle of reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes but that
order was cancelled by order dated 10.8.1982 on the ground that under the
rules of the society dealing with the service conditions of its employees
the principle of reservation has no application in the matter of promotion.
The learned single Judge came to the conclusion that the rule of
reservation applies to the promotional posts also. On appeal, the Division
Bench of the High Court interpreted the notification issued by the Governor
of Andhra Pradesh in exercise of powers conferred by Section 16 of the
Andhra Pradesh Cooperative Societies Act, 1964 and held that the
notification in question is wide enough to include all posts in all co-
operative including the promotional post to which the principle of
reservation should be made applicable and the word appointment in the
notification is not necessarily referable only to the stage of initial
recruitment. With this conclusion the Division Bench dismissed the appeal
filed by the present appellant and confirmed the decision of the learned
single Judge. Hence the present appeal.
Mr. A. Subba Rao learned counsel appearing for the appellant contended that
under Section 116 B of the Andhra Pradesh Co-operative Societies Act the
Government no doubt has the power to give direction to a society or class
of societies or appointment committees to make provisions for the
reservation of appointment or posts under any such society in any cadre
created under the said section in favour or for the grant of any special
concession in the matter of appointments to any such posts or cadre to the
Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Castes and the society or
appointment committee shall be bound to comply with such directions and
give effect to any provisions so made. But in the case in hand in exercise
of such power the notification that has been issued by the Governor of
Andhra Pradesh does not bring within its purview the promotional post to
which the principle of reservation would get attracted and as such the
impugned judgment of the High Court is unsustainable in law. According to
the learned counsel for the appellant the High Court while interpreting the
notification in question has not considered the later part of the
notification which has ultimately vitiated the conclusion arrived at.
Learned counsel appearing for the respondent on the other hand contended
that in view of the wide powers of the Government to issue directions
contained in Section 116 B of the Andhra Pradesh Co-operative societies Act
and in view of the fact that the railways have been following the principal
of reservation in promotional posts and further the appellant society
itself having followed the principle of reservation for some length of time
it would not be in the public interest to hold that the principle of
reservation should not apply in respect of promotional posts. The learned
counsel further contended that in view of the provisions contained in
Article 16(4)(a) of the Constitution, it is a constitutional mandate that
the State can make laws for reservation in matter of promotion of any class
or classes or post in the service under the State in favour of Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes and such constitutional mandate should be borne
in mind while interpreting the relevant notification.
Having heard the learned counsel for the parties and having examined the
relevant provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Co-operative Societies Act as
well as the notification issued by the Governor of Andhra Pradesh in
exercise of power conferred under the provisions of Andhra Pradesh Co-
operative Societies Act, we have no hesitation to hold that the Government
has wide powers to give directions to the societies for applying the
principal of reservation in the matter of promotion to the posts under the
society. But the real question arises for consideration is whether the
notification that has been issued by the Governor of Andhra Pradesh did
provide for reservation in the promotional posts of the co-operative
societies? The notification in question is extracted hereinbelow in
extenso:
“Notification; in Exercise of the powers conferred by Section 16 of the
Andhra Pradesh Co-operative Societies Act, 1964). (Act 7 of 1964), the
Governor (of Andhra Pradesh hereby directs to Societies and the appointment
committee constituted under Section 116-A of the Appendix hereto shall be
followed with regard to reservation of appointment to all posts in all
posts in all cooperative institutions, to be filled by direct recruitment
on temporary or regular basis.”)
On a plain reading of the aforesaid notification it is cnstal clear that
the direction of the Governor was to follow the principle of reservation in
appointment to all posts in all co-operative institutions to be filled by
direct recruitment either on temporary or on regular basis. It is an
undisputed before that the promotional posts in the societies cannot be
filled up by direct recruitment, and therefore, the only conclusion mat can
be arrived at is that the aforesaid direction of the Governor to apply the
principle of reservation is only in respect of appointments in the initial
cadre and not to any appointments in the promotional cadre. The Division
Bench of the High Court while giving wide interpretation to the expression
‘appointment’ in the notification has completely overlooked the latter part
of the said notification to the effect ‘ ‘to be filled by direct
recruitment on temporary or regular basis”. The interpretation given by the
High Court to the notification by giving a wide interpretation to the word
‘appointment’ makes the latter part of the notification wholly redundant or
surplusage. It is a cardinal principle of construction not to brush aside
words used in a statute or in a notification issued under a statute and
full effect must be given to the entire words of an instrument. Applying
the said principle to the notification, which is for consideration before
us, we had no hesitation to come to the conclusion is that under the said
notification no direction has been given by the Governor to apply the
policy of reservation in appointments to the promotional posts. The High
Court, therefore, committed serious error of law in interpreting the
aforesaid notification and by holding that the policy of reservation has
been made applicable to the promotional posts also. We accordingly set
aside the impugned judgment of the High Court as well as the judgment of
the learned single Judge and hold that though it was open to the Govt, to
apply the principle of reservation but by the impugned Notification it has
not been made applicable to the promotional posts available in the society.
This appeal accordingly is allowed and the writ petition filed by the
private respondents stand dismissed. There will be no order as to costs.