Kerala High Court
Neeraj V. vs State Of Kerala on 4 January, 2021
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ALEXANDER THOMAS
&
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE T.R.RAVI
MONDAY, THE 04TH DAY OF JANUARY 2021 / 14TH POUSHA, 1942
OP(KAT).No.268 OF 2020
AGAINST THE JUDGMENT IN OA (EKM) NO.2030/2019 DATED 28-11-2019
OF THE KERALA ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL, ERNAKULAM BENCH
PETITIONER/APPLICANT IN O.A.:
NEERAJ V., AGED 30 YEARS,
S/O. RAGHAVAN V., ILLATHU HOUSE,
P/O. THENJIPALAM, MALAPPURAM - 673 636.
BY ADVS.SRI.B.RENJITHKUMAR, SRI.T.PRADEEP KUMAR
SMT.JISHA P.C.
RESPONDENTS/RESPONDENTS:
1 STATE OF KERALA,
REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY,
DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION - PRINTING AND
STATIONERY, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - 695 001.
2 THE DIRECTOR OF PRINTING
PRINTING DEPARTMENT, GOVERNMENT CENTRAL PRESS,
STATUE, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - 695 001.
3 THE KERALA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
REP. BY ITS SECRETARY, PATTOM,
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - 695 004.
SRI.B.VINOD KUMAR, SR.GOVT.PLEADER FOR R1 & R2
SRI.P.C.SASIDHARAN, STANDING COUNSEL FOR R3.
THIS OP KERALA ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL HAVING COME UP FOR
ADMISSION ON 04.01.2021, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE
FOLLOWING:
ALEXANDER THOMAS & T.R.RAVI, JJ.
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O.P.(KAT) No. 268 of 2020
(arising out of the impugned judgment dated 28.11.2019 in
O.A.(EKM) No. 2030 of 2019 on the file of
the Kerala Administrative Tribunal, Ernakulam Bench)
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Dated this the 4th day of January, 2021
JUDGMENT
The prayers in the afore captioned Original Petition filed
under Articles 226 & 227 of the Constitution of India are as follows:
"
i. Issue a writ of Certiorari or any other appropriate writ order or
direction to quash Ext.P1 and Annexures-A1 and A10 in Ext.P2.
ii. Issue a writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate writ order or
direction to the respondents commanding to appoint the petitioner as
Binder Grade-II in the District Government Press, Wayanad within a
time bound.
iii. To grant such other reliefs as this Honorable Court would deem fit
and proper. And
iv. Allow the costs of the petitioner."
2. Heard Sri.B.Renjith Kumar, learned counsel appearing for
the petitioner, Sri.B.Vinod, learned Senior Government Pleader
appearing for respondents 1 & 2 and Sri.P.C.Sasidharan, learned
Standing Counsel for the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC)
appearing for the 3rd respondent.
3. The petitioner has been included in the rank list for the post
of Binder Grade-II in Wayanad District Government Press,
prepared by the respondent Kerala Public Service Commission in
O.P.(KAT) No. 268 of 2020
..3..
pursuance of the selection notification issued by the Commission
in that regard. The said rank list has come into force on 11.5.2017.
The petitioner has been included therein as rank No.3. It is
common ground that the said rank list after due extension after
taking into account the COVID-19 pandemic issues has expired on
19.6.2020. From the submissions of the learned Standing
Counsel for the PSC it appears that, only one vacancy in the post of
Binder Grade-II has been reported by the appointing
authority to the PSC during the currency of abovesaid rank list and
that the said vacancy came for advise and appointment in the open
competition turn and rank No.1 in the list was duly appointed.
Thereafter it appears that no further vacancies have been reported
by the appointing authority to the PSC before the expiry of rank
list on 19.6.2020.
4. It is now well settled that, advise and appointments
can be made from the rank list prepared by the PSC only in respect
of the vacancies duly reported by the appointing authority to the
PSC during the currency of rank list, and hence advise and
appointment is not permissible from among the candidates
in the rank list as against vacancies which may be reported
O.P.(KAT) No. 268 of 2020
..4..
after the expiry of rank list. {See Vimala Kumari v. State
reported in 1994 (2) KLT 47 (FB)}
5. The case of the petitioner herein is that, as per order
dated 13.6.1997 (produced as Anx.A4 in the O.A. filed before the
Tribunal), two posts of Binder Grade-II were shifted from
Wayanad district to Thiruvananthapuram district and as per order
dated 30.10.2019 (produced as Anx.A10 in the O.A. filed before the
Tribunal), the objections raised by the petitioner herein/original
applicant has been rejected by the appointing authority concerned.
The case of the petitioner is that, the abovesaid vacancies of
Binder Grade-II have been shifted from Wayanad district to
Thiruvananthapuram district by the respondent on 13.6.1997
which is without any authority, and the jurisdictional competence
in that regard to order the shifting of posts could have been
exercised only by the Government and not by the Director, and
therefore the said order dated 13.6.1997 shifting the two posts of
Binder Grade-II is null and void, and that therefore those two
vacancies should be taken into account for advise and appointment
of candidates included in the present rank list which came into
force on 11.5.2017.
O.P.(KAT) No. 268 of 2020
..5..
6. The Tribunal has taken the view that the abovesaid
contentions of the petitioner are not tenable and that the abovesaid
shifting of posts have been done by the respondent Director in
administrative exigencies about two decades back, in the year 1997
and that the petitioner may not have the locus to challenge the said
order of shifting of posts issued as early as in the year 1997 at this
late stage, and that it is exclusively within the domain of the head
of the department or the Government to decide either to create,
abolish or shift posts considering administrative exigencies, etc.
7. Sri.B.Renjith Kumar, learned counsel appearing for the
petitioner would point out that the petitioner do not have any case
that the respondent Director of Printing is competent to order for
shifting of posts, which could have been done only by the
competent authority of the State Government, etc.
8. It may not really relevant or germane for us to
determine said issue raised by the petitioner for the simple reason
that the said two posts which are the subject matter of shifting
order or any other posts other than the above singular vacancy
have been reported to the PSC before the expiry of present rank list
on 19.6.2020. Hence no relief could be granted to the petitioner for
O.P.(KAT) No. 268 of 2020
..6..
the simple reason that no vacancy other than the singular vacancy
has not been reported by the appointing authority to the PSC
before the expiry of present rank list on 19.6.2020. Hence, no
interference is called for in respect of the decision rendered by the
Kerala Administrative Tribunal on 28.11.2019 in O.A.(EKM) No.
2030/2019.
With these observations and directions, the above
Original Petition will stand dismissed.
Sd/-
ALEXANDER THOMAS, JUDGE
Sd/-
T.R.RAVI, JUDGE
MMG
O.P.(KAT) No. 268 of 2020
..7..
APPENDIX
PETITIONER'S EXHIBITS:
EXHIBIT P1 CERTIFIED COPY OF THE JUDGMENT DATED 28.11.2019
IN OA(EKM) NO.2030/2019 IN THE FILE OF KERALA
ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL AT THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
(ADDL. BENCH AT ERNAKULAM).
EXHIBIT P2 TRUE COPY OF THE OA(EKM) NO.2030/2019 IN THE
FILE OF KERALA ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL,
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM (ADDL. BENCH AT ERNAKULAM).
ANNEXURE A1 TRUE COPY OF THE GAZETTE NOTIFICATION
NO.292/2014 DATED 13.06.2014.
ANNEXURE A2 TRUE COPY OF THE RANK LIST NO.495/17/DOW AND
CATEGORY NO.292/2014 ISSUED BY THE 3RD
RESPONDENT.
ANNEXURE A3 TRUE COPY OF THE LETTER NO.16579/17/F.4 DATED
21.08.2017.
ANNEXURE A4 TRUE TYPED COPY OF THE GOVERNMENT ORDER
NO.21834/97/96 DATED 13.06.97.
ANNEXURE A5 TRUE COPY OF THE LETTER NO.20902/2017/F4 DATED
14.11.2017.
ANNEXURE A6 TRUE COPY OF THE PETITION DATED 18.12.2017
PREFERRED BY THE APPLICANT TO THE 1ST
RESPONDENT.
ANNEXURE A7 TRUE COPY OF THE NOTICE NO.227/H/17/HED DATED
16.12.2017 ISSUED BY 1ST RESPONDENT TO THE
APPLICANT.
ANNEXURE A8 TRUE COPY OF THE RELEVANT PORTION OF MALAYALAM
DAILY 'THE MATHRUBHUMI' DATED 10.06.2017.
ANNEXURE A9 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DATED 21.06.2019 IN
OA(EKM) 1010/2019 OF THIS HON'BLE COURT.
ANNEXURE A10 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DATED 30.10.2019 OF THE
1ST RESPONDENT.
