Remya J vs State Of Kerala
2025 Latest Caselaw 3572 Ker

Kerala High Court

Remya J vs State Of Kerala on 3 February, 2025

                                      1
WP(C) Nos.30389/2019, 34772/2019                   2025:KER:12318

               IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM

                                   PRESENT

           THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HARISANKAR V. MENON

      MONDAY, THE 3RD DAY OF FEBRUARY 2025 / 14TH MAGHA, 1946

                        WP(C) NO.30389 OF 2019


PETITIONERS:

     1      NEETHU.R
            AGED 33 YEARS, W/O. SANEESH,
            UPPER PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHER,
            Y.L.M. UPPER PRIMARY SCHOOL, KEEZHATTINGAL,
            ATTINGAL, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM DISTRICT.

     2      RAJESH.P.
            AGED 38 YEARS, S/O. PUSHPARAJAN,
            LG HINDI TEACHER, Y.L.M. UPPER PRIMARY SCHOOL,
            KEEZHATTINGAL, ATTINGAL, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM DISTRICT.


            BY ADVS.
            M.V.THAMBAN
            SRI.R.REJI
            SMT.THARA THAMBAN
            SRI.B.BIPIN
            SRI.ARUN BOSE




RESPONDENTS:

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

     2      THE DIRECTOR OF GENERAL EDUCATION,
            OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF GENERAL EDUCATION,
            JAGATHI, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM 695 014.

     3      THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR (EDUCATION),
            OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION,
            THIRUVANANTHAPURAM 695 023.
                                     2
WP(C) Nos.30389/2019, 34772/2019                         2025:KER:12318


     4       THE ASSISTANT EDUCATIONAL OFFICER,
             OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT EDUCATIONAL OFFICER, A
             TTINGAL, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM 695 101.


             BY SRI.E.G.GORDEN, SENIOR GOVT. PLEADER




      THIS   WRIT   PETITION   (CIVIL)   HAVING   BEEN   FINALLY   HEARD   ON
03.02.2025, ALONG WITH WP(C) NO.34772/2019, THE COURT ON THE SAME
DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
                                       3
WP(C) Nos.30389/2019, 34772/2019                   2025:KER:12318


               IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM

                                   PRESENT

           THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HARISANKAR V. MENON

      MONDAY, THE 3RD DAY OF FEBRUARY 2025 / 14TH MAGHA, 1946

                        WP(C) NO.34772 OF 2019


PETITIONERS:



            REMYA J.,
            AGED 32 YEARS, W/O.UMESHV.S.,
            UPPER PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHER,
            Y.L.M.UPPER PRIMARY SCHOOL, KEEZHATTINGAL,
            ATTINGAL, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM DISTRICT.


            BY ADVS.
            M.V.THAMBAN
            R.REJI
            THARA THAMBAN
            B.BIPIN
            ARUN BOSE
            DEEPA SREENIVASAN




RESPONDENTS:



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

     2      THE DIRECTOR OF GENERAL EDUCATION,
            OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF GENERAL EDUCATION,
            JAGATHI, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - 695 014.
                                     4
WP(C) Nos.30389/2019, 34772/2019                         2025:KER:12318

     3       THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR (EDUCATION),
             OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION,
             THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, PIN - 695 023.

     4       THE ASSISTANT EDUCATIONAL OFFICER,
             OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT EDUCATIONAL OFFICER,
             ATTINGAL, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, PIN - 695 101.


             BY SRI.E.G.GORDEN, SENIOR GOVERNMENT PLEADER




      THIS   WRIT   PETITION   (CIVIL)   HAVING   BEEN   FINALLY   HEARD   ON
03.02.2025, ALONG WITH WP(C)NO.30389/2019, THE COURT ON THE SAME
DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
                                    5
WP(C) Nos.30389/2019, 34772/2019                      2025:KER:12318

                             JUDGMENT

[WP(C) Nos.30389/2019, 34772/2019]

Petitioner in W.P.(C) No.34772 of 2019 was appointed as

Upper Primary School Assistant (UPSA) and petitioners in

W.P.(C) No.30389 of 2019 were appointed as Lower Primary

School Assistant (LPSA)/LG Hindi Teacher with effect from

15.07.2012 in YLM Upper Primary School, Keezhattingal. The

petitioners contend that their appointment, as above, was

originally approved. However, the afore approval of

appointments was subsequently recalled by the 4th

respondent Assistant Educational Officer (AEO), essentially on

the allegation that the school did not have sufficient

dimensions for appropriate numbers of classrooms. On

account of the afore, as regards appointments to two

additional divisions were cancelled, leading to the approval of

the petitioners' appointments also getting revisited.

2. The Manager of the school challenged the afore

decision before the Government. The Government, through

WP(C) Nos.30389/2019, 34772/2019 2025:KER:12318

Ext.P10 dated 04.09.2019 in W.P.(C) No.30389 of 2019, made

reference to a fitness certificate produced at the instance of

the Manager dated 14.11.2014 and held that the afore

certificate cannot be relied on for approving the appointments

for the periods prior to that certificate. On the basis of the

afore finding, the revision filed by the Manager stood rejected.

3. It is in the afore circumstances that the captioned

writ petitions have been filed by the petitioners.

4. I have heard Sri.R.Reji, the learned counsel for the

petitioner and Sri.E.G.Gorden, the learned Senior Government

Pleader for the respondents in both the cases.

5. The fact that the petitioners' appointments were

refused to be approved on the basis of the certificate produced

dated 14.11.2014, as regards the school building in question,

is not in dispute. The learned counsel for the petitioners invited

the attention of this Court to Ext.P12 dated 19.03.2018, issued

by the 4th respondent approving the appointment of the

petitioners from 15.07.2015 on the basis of the very same

WP(C) Nos.30389/2019, 34772/2019 2025:KER:12318

certificate dated 14.11.2014. According to him, originally, the

Manager submitted a certificate, which was defective for one

reason or the other and it is on that basis that the Manager

subsequently produced the second corrected certificate dated

14.11.2014.

6. If, as contended by Sri.Reji, the learned counsel for

the petitioner in both cases, the appointment from 15.07.2015

is approved on the basis of the second certificate, which is only

a correction, is correct, then I find no reason why the approval

of the petitioners for the periods anterior to the afore

certificate is also approved.

7. But the question has not been addressed by the

Government in the afore lines. The Government appears to

have proceeded on the basis that, at the first instance, the

certificate dated 14.11.2014 is given as defective, and if at all,

that is acceptable that can be accepted only for the academic

years thereafter. However, insofar as the appointment is

approved from 15.01.2015, the admissibility of the certificate

WP(C) Nos.30389/2019, 34772/2019 2025:KER:12318

dated 14.11.2014, is also accepted by the competent among

the respondents. When that be so, the only issue remaining to

be considered is as to whether the contents of the afore

certificate dated 14.11.2014 also can be applied for the earlier

periods, as contended by the petitioners, since it was only a

mistake that was rectified by the Manager.

In such circumstances, I dispose of these writ petitions

as under:

(i) Exts.P6, P7, P10, P11, P12 and P13 in W.P.(C) No.30389 of 2019 and Exts.P5 and P8 in W.P.(C) No.34772 of 2019 are set aside.

(ii) The Government is directed to reconsider the claim of the petitioners in the light of the afore, with specific reference to the fitness certificate dated 14.11.2014 as well as its applicability for earlier periods, after hearing the petitioners, as expeditiously as possible, at any rate within a period of four months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this judgment.

Sd/-

HARISANKAR V. MENON JUDGE Skk//14.02.2025

WP(C) Nos.30389/2019, 34772/2019 2025:KER:12318

APPENDIX OF WP(C) NO.34772 OF 2019

PETITIONER'S EXHIBITS:

EXHIBIT P1 TRUE COPY OF THE APPOINTMENT ORDER DATED 04/06/2012 ISSUED IN RESPECT OF THE PETITIONER.

EXHIBIT P2 TRUE COPY OF THE STAFF FIXATION ORDER ISSUED BY THE FOURTH RESPONDENT IN RESPECT OF Y.L.M.UPPER PRIMARY SCHOOL, KEEZHATTINGAL, FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2012-13.

EXHIBIT P3 TRUE COPY OF THE STAFF FIXATION ORDER ISSUED BY THE FOURTH RESPONDENT IN RESPECT OF Y.L.M.UPPER PRIMARY SCHOOL, KEEZHATTINGAL, FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2013-14.

EXHIBIT P4 TRUE COPY OF THE STAFF FIXATION ORDER ISSUED BY THE FOURTH RESPONDENT IN RESPECT OF Y.L.M.UPPER PRIMARY SCHOOL, KEEZHATTINGAL, FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2014-15.

EXHIBIT P5 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER NO.B/2348/2016/D.DIS.

DATED 15/04/2017 OF THE 4TH RESPONDENT.

EXHIBIT P6 TRUE COPY OF THE G.O.(RT) NO.3742/91/G.EDN.

DATED 16/12/1991.

EXHIBIT P7 TRUE COPY OF THE REVISION PETITION FILED BY THE MANAGER OF THE Y.L.M.UPPER PRIMARY SCHOOL, KEEZHATTINGAL, BEFORE THE GOVERNMENT.

EXHIBIT P8 TRUE COPY OF THE G.O.(RT) NO.3572/2019/G.EDN. DATED 04/09/2019.

WP(C) Nos.30389/2019, 34772/2019 2025:KER:12318

APPENDIX OF WP(C) NO.30389 OF 2019

PETITIONERS' EXHIBITS

EXHIBIT P1 TRUE COPY OF THE APPOINTMENT ORDER DATED 04.06.2012 ISSUED IN RESPECT OF THE 1ST PETITIONER.

EXHIBIT P2 TRUE COPY OF THE APPOINTMENT ORDER DATED 04.06.2012 ISSUED IN RESPECT OF THE 2ND PETITIONER ALONG WITH APPROVAL ORDER.

EXHIBIT P3 TRUE COPY OF THE STAFF FIXATION ORDER ISSUED BY THE FOURTH RESPONDENT IN RESPECT OF Y.L.M UPPER PRIMARY SCHOOL, KEEZHATTINGAL, FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2012-13.

EXHIBIT P4 TRUE COPY OF THE STAFF FIXATION ORDER ISSUED BY THE FOURTH RESPONDENT IN RESPECT OF Y.L.M UPPER PRIMARY SCHOOL, KEEZHATTINGAL, FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2013-14.

EXHIBIT P5 TRUE COPY OF THE STAFF FIXATION ORDER ISSUED BY THE FOURTH RESPONDENT IN RESPECT OF Y.L.M. UPPER PRIMARY SCHOOL, KEEZHATTINGAL, FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2014-15.

EXHIBIT P6 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER NO. B/2348/2016/D.DIS DATED 15.04.2017 OF THE 4TH RESPONDENT.

EXHIBIT P7 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER NO.

B(4)/9464/2016/D.D.E/K.DIS DATED 22.12.2016.

EXHIBIT P8 TRUE COPY OF THE REVIEW PETITIONER FILED BEFORE THE 2ND RESPONDENT.

EXHIBIT P9 TRUE COPY OF THE G.O.(RT) NO. 3742/91/G.EDN DATED 16.12.1991.

EXHIBIT P10 TRUE COPY OF THE G.O. (RT) NO. 3572/2019/G.EDN DATED 04.09.2019.

EXHIBIT P11 TRUE COPY OF THE LETTER NO. B/852/2017 DATED 16.06.2017 SUBMITTED BY THE 4TH RESPONDENT.

EXHIBIT P12 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER NO. B/852/2017/K.DIS DATED 19.03.2018 ISSUED BY THE 4TH RESPONDENT.

EXHIBIT P13 TRUE COPY OF THE LETTER NO. B/507/2019 DATED 28.09.2019 ISSUED BY THE 4TH RESPONDENT.

WP(C) Nos.30389/2019, 34772/2019 2025:KER:12318

RESPONDENTS' EXHIBITS:

EXHIBIT R3(A) TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER NO.R1(1)/6280/2017/DPI/K.DIS DATED 25.05.2017

EXHIBIT R3(B) TRUE COPY OF ORDER NO.F(1)/52317/2017/DPI/K.DIS DATED 01.01.2018