Con.Case(C) No.1210/2022 1/6
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ALEXANDER THOMAS
&
THE HONOURABLE MRS. JUSTICE SHOBA ANNAMMA EAPEN
Wednesday, the 29th day of June 2022 / 8th Ashadha, 1944
CONTEMPT CASE(C) NO. 1210 OF 2022(S) IN OP(KAT) 434/2019
PETITIONER/RESPONDENT NO.1 IN OP(KAT):
AGIMON K.P,AGED 45,S/O.SHRI.K.E.PADMANABHAN, KAIPPANAL
HOUSE,PAINGOTTOOR,KOTHAMANGALAM,ERNAKULAM, PIN - 686671
BY ADVS.B.RAGHUNATHAN,M.SALIM,DR.STANLY CHAZHOOR,K.JALADHARAN,V.M.JACOB
RESPONDENT/PETITIONER NO.1 IN OP(KAT):
SHRI.T.K.JOSE,ADDITIONAL CHIEF SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT, HOME
DEPARTMENT,GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT,THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, PIN - 695001
SRI.ASHOK M.CHERIAN,ADDITIONAL ADVOCATE GENERAL
SRI.T.K.VIPIN DAS,SENIOR GOVERNMENT PLEADER
This Contempt of court case (civil) having come up for orders on
29.06.2022, the court on the same day passed the following:
Con.Case(C) No.1210/2022 2/6
ALEXANDER THOMAS & SHOBA ANNAMMA EAPEN, JJ.
---------------------------------------------------------
Cont. Case (C) No. 1210 of 2022
[arising out of the impugned judgment dated 31.01.2022
in OP(KAT) No.434/2019]
---------------------------------------------------------
Dated this the 29th day of June, 2022
ORDER
Sri.T.K.Vipin Das, learned Senior Government Pleader, seeks short time to get instructions in the matter.
2. Sri.Ashok M. Cherian, learned Additional Advocate General, is requested to immediately get instructions and may furnish necessary advice to the Principal Secretary, Home Department to ensure that immediate steps are taken, for compliance of the directions in the judgment that would amount to alleviation of the long standing agony and suffering undergone by a duly qualified candidate, who is suffering from 85% orthopaedic disability. The directions in the judgment at Annexure A1 were ordered to be complied within a period of six weeks, which time period has expired long ago.
3. The Tribunal has conclusively found, about which there cannot be any dispute, that going by the actual number of appointments already made, lateral vacancies in the physically disabled quota were not Con.Case(C) No.1210/2022 3/6 Cont. Case (C) No. 1210 of 2022 2 less than seven. However, the tribunal issued an interim order directing reporting of only six vacancies of Assistant Public Prosecutor in the physically disabled quota to the PSC before the deadline of the expiry of the ranked list. In spite of this order, it appears that, the Government has issued a Government Order creating and sanctioning ten vacancies in the post of Assistant Public Prosecutor and the said vacancies are also reported by the Government to the PSC well before the deadline and after the issuance of the interim order, but, giving an impression to the PSC, as if all those said vacancies are in the general quota, whereas six of such vacancies should have been in the physically disabled quota. This could have been on account of communication gap at the ends of the Government regarding the interim order passed by the tribunal. But, at least thereafter, when admittedly the Government had received the copy of the interim order passed by the tribunal, the competent authority of the State Government in the Home Department, should have immediately sent a clarificatory letter to the PSC alerting them that at least six out of the ten vacancies should be provisionally set apart in the physically disabled quota to honour and comply with the directions of the tribunal. That was not done. On the other hand, since the impression Con.Case(C) No.1210/2022 4/6 Cont. Case (C) No. 1210 of 2022 3 given in the requisition made by the Government was as if all the ten vacancies are in the general quota, the PSC authorities also had advised ten candidates as against the ten vacancies and that too, treating as if it is a case of general recruitment and not a case of lateral reservation for physically disabled quota. There is no dispute that the present petitioner was the next eligible candidate in the special ranked list for the physically disabled quota.
4. We modulated the verdict of the tribunal and directed that the petitioner should be appointed as Assistant Public Prosecutor by the State Government on an out of turn basis and we also did not issue any direction that five balance appointments should also be made as against the five remaining vacancies directed to be reported in the physically disabled quota. The time line stipulated by us in Annexure A1 judgment dated 31.01.2022 was six weeks. Evaluating the timeline from the date of receipt of copy of Annexure A1 judgment, the said timeline has expired long ago. A physically disabled candidate suffering 85% orthopaedic disability has been patiently waiting and suffering and also facing the agony of litigation. We hope and trust that the respondent officer would rise up to the occasion and ensure that the above said Con.Case(C) No.1210/2022 5/6 Cont. Case (C) No. 1210 of 2022 4 directions are complied with without any further delay.
5. The Registry will show the name of Sri.Ashok M. Cherian, learned Additional Advocate General, in the cause list.
List the case on 11.07.2022.
Hand Over sd/-
ALEXANDER THOMAS JUDGE sd/-
SHOBA ANNAMMA EAPEN JUDGE bka/-
29-06-2022 /True Copy/ Assistant Registrar
Con.Case(C) No.1210/2022 6/6
APPENDIX OF CON.CASE(C) 1210/2022
Annexure A1 CERTIFIED COPY OF JUDGMENT DATED 31.1.2022 IN
OP(KAT)NO.434 OF 2019.