Shijith Lal X vs State Of Kerala
2021 Latest Caselaw 8813 Ker

               IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM

                               PRESENT

          THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DEVAN RAMACHANDRAN

   WEDNESDAY, THE 17TH DAY OF MARCH 2021 / 26TH PHALGUNA, 1942

                       WP(C).No.686 OF 2020(I)


PETITIONER:

               SHIJITH LAL X, PEON (OFFICE ATTENDANT),
               VENGALAM AIDED UP SCHOOL,
               VENGALAM P.O.ELATHUR (VIA),
               KOZHIKODE DISTRICT-673 303.

               BY ADV. DR.GEORGE ABRAHAM

RESPONDENTS:

      1        STATE OF KERALA
               REPRESENTED BY SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT,
               DEPARTMENT OF GENERAL EDUCATION,
               SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM-695 001.

      2        DIRECTOR OF GENERAL EDUCATION,
               JAGATHY, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM-695 014.

      3        THE DISTRICT EDUCATIONAL OFFICER,
               VADAKARA-673 101.

      4        ASSISTANT EDUCATIONAL OFFICER,
               KOILANDY, KOZHIKODE DISTRICT-673 305.

      5        THE MANAGER, VENGALAM AIDED UP SCHOOL,
               VENGALAM P.O.EALATHUR (VIA)
               KOZHIKODE DISTRICT-673 303.


               SRI. P.M.MANOJ - SR.GP

     THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD        ON
17.03.2021, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
 WPC 686/20
                                      2



                               JUDGMENT

The petitioner says that he is working as

a Peon/Office Attendant in the services of the

'Vengalam Aided U.P. School', Kozhikode and

that he has been constrained to approach this

Court impugning Exts.P2, P3 and P12 orders, as

per which, his appointment has been approved

only on daily wage basis, on the reason that

the school is an 'uneconomic' one.

2. The specific contention of the

petitioner as voiced by his learned counsel -

Dr.George Abraham, is that since statutorily,

under the mandate of Rule 1, Chapter XXIVA of

the Kerala Education Rules (KER for short),

the post of a Peon is mandatory for any

school, the Authorities cannot refuse to grant

approval to such appointment, merely because

the number of students is lesser than what is

required for the purpose of appointing

teaching staff. He submitted that since it is WPC 686/20

the statutory requirement under Rule 1 Chapter

XXIVA of the KER that every school should have

a Peon, his client's approval cannot be

declined by the competent Authorities based on

student strength. He, therefore, prayed that

the impugned orders be set aside and the

Authorities be directed to grant approval to

his client's appointment as has been sought

for on Scale of Pay basis.

3. On hearing Dr.George Abraham as afore,

I am aware that this Court had considered an

analogous situation in W.P.(C)No.29514/2018,

in which, a judgment had been delivered

directing the Government to reconsider the

matter, noticing that the post of a Peon in a

school is mandatory under the statutory

prescriptions, even if sufficient student

strength is not available and though the

school may be treated as an 'uneconomic' one.

4. I am certain that the observations of WPC 686/20

this Court in the aforesaid judgment would

apply in all its force to the facts of this

case also because, here again, it is contended

that the petitioner is the only Peon working

in the school.

5. The learned Senior Government Pleader

- Sri.P.M.Manoj, also affirmed that a similar

situation had been noticed by this Court in

W.P.(C)No.29514/2018 and conceded that

Government had been directed to reconsider the

matter in the light of Rule 1, Chapter XXIVA of

the KER. He thus submitted that if this Court

is so inclined, Government may be allowed to

reconsider the matter on similar lines.

In the afore circumstances and since the

provisions of Rule 1, Chapter XXIVA of the KER

is imperative and mandatory in its nature and

since the petitioner says that he is the only

Peon working in the school, I deem it

appropriate that the matter be directed to be WPC 686/20

reconsidered by the Government in the light of

the afore circumstances.

Resultantly, Ext.P12 order is set aside;

with a consequential direction to the

Government to reconsider the proposal for

approval of appointment of the petitioner as a

Peon of the school, adverting to the mandatory

provisions of Rule 1, Chapter XXIVA of the KER

and after affording him, as also the Manager,

an opportunity of being heard - either

physically or through video conferencing -

thus culminating in an appropriate order

thereon as expeditiously as is possible, but

not later than three months from the date of

receipt of a copy of this judgment.

This writ petition is thus ordered.

Sd/-

                                        DEVAN RAMACHANDRAN
       RR                                        JUDGE
 WPC 686/20



                            APPENDIX
       PETITIONER'S/S EXHIBITS:

       EXHIBIT P1        TRUE COPY OF THE APPOINTMENT ORDER
                         DATED 1.6.2015 ISSUED BY THE
                         MANAGER.

       EXHIBIT P2        TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DATED

20.10.2015 ISSUED BY THE ASSISTANT EDUCATIONAL OFFICER.

EXHIBIT P3 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DATED 22.2.2016 ISSUED BY THE DISTRICT EDUCATIONAL OFFICER.

EXHIBIT P4 TRUE COPY OF THE STAFF FIXATION ORDER FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2015-165 ISSUED BY THE ASSISTANT EDUCATIONAL OFFICER, KOILANDY.

EXHIBIT P5 TRUE COPY OF THE STAFF FIXATION ORDER DATED 11.12.2017 ISSUED BY THE ASSISTANT EDUCATIONAL OFFICER.

EXHIBIT P6 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DATED 23.8.2016 ISSUED BY THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION

EXHIBIT P7 TRUE COPY OF THE REVISION FILED BY THE MANAGER BEFORE THE 1ST RESPONDENT

EXHIBIT P8 TRUE COPY OF THE CIRCULAR DATED 6.11.2012 ISSUED BY THE 1ST RESPONDENT

EXHIBIT P9 TRUE COPY OF THE GOVERNMENT ORDER GO(RT) NO 3418/18/G.EDN DATED 7.9.2018

EXHIBIT P10 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DATED 5.11.2016 ISSUED BY THE ASSISTANT EDUCATIONAL OFFICER, KOILANDY

EXHIBIT P11 TRUE COPY OF THE JUDGMENT IN WPC NO 40977/18 WPC 686/20

EXHIBIT P12 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DATED 16.12.2019 ISSUED BY THE GOVERNMENT