STATE OF KERALA Vs. K SUSEELA GEORGE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The above two appeals arise from the judgment in O. P. No. 2416 of 1998. W. A. No. 1080/98 is filed by the respondents, viz., State of Kerala, Director of Collegiate Education and the Departmental Promotion Committee of Higher Education Department. Mr. P. T. Govindan Nambiar, Principal, G. P. M. Government College, Manjeswar had impleaded in the appeal as second respondent. He had also filed a separate appeal as W. A. No. 1395 of 1999, after obtaining leave from the court he being not party to the earlier proceedings.

(2.) The Original Petition leading to the present appeals had been filed by Smt. K. Suseela George, while working as Principal of the Government College, Kanjiramkulam. She had been promoted provisionally as Principal and regularised by order dated 26.03.1996. Her complaint was that though steps were in progress for selection for promotion as Principal (Special Grade)/Deputy Director of Collegiate Education and the Departmental Promotion Committee was being convened, her claims were not being taken note of, whereas her juniors were included in the list. Intervention of the Court, therefore, had been sought for.

(3.) It appears that during 1986 Smt. Suseela George had relinquished her claims for promotion as IInd Grade Professor and by Ext. P1 dated 10.7.1986 Government had granted such permission permanently and unconditionally. It was a provisional promotion that had been offered. Notwithstanding she had been given a placement based on her seniority as a lecturer (Selection Grade) effective from 01.08.1986 in view of introduction of U.G.C. Scheme and she was continuing as such. It had also been stated that in the final integrated seniority list as on 13.03.1990 of Lecturers (Selection Grade) she had been given a rank of 257, and on that basis she had secured promotion as Principal on 21.12.1995. She was therefore very much in the field of reckoning. She got alerted since her Confidential Records had not been called for by the Director. She was about to be so side lined in the preliminaries to the selection of Deputy Director. In almost identical circumstances, by judgment in O. P. No. 2463 of 1996, this Court had declared that relinquishment of promotion as Grade II Professor did not disentitle a lecturer from being promoted to the higher cadres. It had been pointed out that the introduction of U.G.C. Scheme had completely changed the structure of Collegiate Education Service. Mr. Justice C. S. Rajan in the above O. P. had observed as follows: