GEORGE Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) COMMON question arises in these cases. W. A. 666/2000 is at the instance of the petitioner in O. P. 8859/99, which was dismissed by a learned Single Judge.

(2.) PETITIONERS challenged the provisions contained under the Kerala Service Rules where the age of retirement of Government employee is fixed as 55 years. Similar contentions taken by petitioners in several other writ petitions where the above-mentioned question was raised, were dismissed by a learned Single Judge and were affirmed by a Division Bench. This Court has taken the view that there is no reason to reconsider the view taken by this court in the earlier decisions in N. Srinivasan v. State of Kerala , 1967 KLT 853 (FB) and Kerala gazetted Officers Front & Ors. v. State of Kerala , 1987 (1) KLT 336. This Court also noted that the above view is in consonance with the decisions of the Supreme court in K. Nagaraj & Ors. v. D. Shankaran etc. , AIR 1985 SC 551, George v. State of Kerala, 1992 (1) KLT 793 (SC) and S. L. P. 1884/87 arising out of the judgment in W. A. 784/86.

(3.) KERALA Public Services Act, 1968 is an Act to regulate the recruitment and conditions of service of persons appointed to public services and posts in connection with the affairs of the State of KERALA . S. 2 of the above said Act reads as follows: "2. Regulation of recruitment and conditions of service:- (1)The Government may make rules either prospectively or retrospectively to regulate the recruitment and conditions of service of persons appointed, to public services and posts in connection with the affairs of the State of KERALA. (2) Every rule made under this Section shall be laid as soon as may be after it is made before the Legislative Assembly while it is in session for a total period of fourteen days which may be comprised in one session or in two successive sessions, and if before the expiry of the Session in which it is so laid or the session immediately following, the Legislative assembly agrees that the rule should be either modified or annulled, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of one effect as the case may be; so however that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule. " S. 3 provides that all rules made under the proviso to art. 309 of the Constitution of India', regulating the recruitment, and conditions of service of persons appointed, to public services and posts in connection with the affairs of the State of KERALA and in force immediately before the 17th September, 1968, shall be deemed to have been made under this act and shall continue to be in force unless and until they are superseded by rules made under this Act. KERALA Service Rules, which were promulgated on 10. 11. 1959 under Art. 309 of the Constitution shall, thus, be deemed to have been made under the KERALA Public Services Act, 1968.