New Delhi: The Supreme Court has held that the 1975 Presidential Order providing for appointment to certain category of posts in the erstwhile united AP cannot be given retrospective effect. The court ordered the state government to complete the process of filling the remaining 973 vacancies in three months. Pursuant to the Presidential Order of 1975, the state issued a GO whereby 70 per cent of non-gazetted category posts other than Lower Division Clerk or equivalent posts were reserved in for local candidates.

In 2002, the GO whereby 70 per cent of non-gazetted category posts were reserved in favour of local candidates was amended and given retrospective effect for the advertisement issued in 1999 for filling certain vacancies. The State Administrative Tribunal excluded certain posts and on an appeal the AP High Court modified the order and the vacancies were filled.

The present appeal is directed against this judgement. Setting aside this order a Bench of Justices S.J. Mukhopadaya and V. Gopala Gowda said, “By the Presidential Order, 1975, the state government has not been empowered to pass any order with retrospective effect. Apart from the fact that the state government was not empowered to pass any orders with retrospective date, in the absence of any terms or intention to make it retrospective date, the GO Ms No. 124 dated March 7, 2002, cannot be given effect from a retrospective date.”

Writing the judgement Justice Mukhopadaya said, “In any case, the state government cannot pass any order amending a procedural law regarding reservation in the matter of selection to posts, with retrospective effect, once the procedure of selection starts. Unless until there is a specific provision in the statute giving retrospective effect. We hold that the 2002 GO is prospective and is not applicable to the process of selection started pursuant to advertisement of 1999 including the 973 executive posts which were ordered to be filled up by the High Court pursuant to the advertisement.”

The bench directed the respondents to fill up the rest of the posts in three months including the posts of Municipal Commis-sioners Grade-III, Assistant Commercial Tax Officers, Assistant Labour Officers in executive cadre and Assistant Section Officers in non executive cadre, which are vacant, as per President Order, 1975.