Andhra Pradesh High Court Upholds Judgment Quashing Termination of Employees' Services

VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court has ruled that removal of an employee from service amounts to a major punishment, and it cannot be imposed without issuing prior notice or giving an opportunity to be heard. Any order passed in violation of the principles of natural justice is legally unsustainable, the court held, while dismissing an appeal filed by education authorities. A division bench, comprising Justice Battu Devanand and Justice Avadhanam Hari Haranadha Sarma, upheld the December 14, 2023 judgment of a single judge, which had set aside proceedings issued by the Commissioner of Intermediate Education on February 7, 2005, terminating the services of three employees. The bench found no reason to interfere with the single judge’s ruling, and dismissed the appeal filed by the Education Department Secretary, the Commissioner of Intermediate Education, and Regional Directors. The case relates to KVR Srinivasu and G Srinivasacharyulu, appointed as record assistants, and I Nagaraju, appointed as night watchman, at AKPS Government Junior College, Dumpagadapa, West Godavari district, in 1996. They were appointed against aided vacant posts, with their salaries payable by the government under the grant-in-aid scheme. As salaries were not released, the trio approached the High Court in 1997. The court directed the government to pay their salaries, a decision later upheld by a division bench in 2004. However, instead of implementing the orders, the authorities issued proceedings in 2005 abruptly terminating their services, without issuing notices or seeking explanations. Challenging the termination, the employees filed a writ petition the same year, alleging arbitrary and unilateral action. The single judge quashed the termination orders in 2023, and directed payment of salaries.