ANTONY THOMAS Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner entered service as a Lecturer in the Technical Education Service on 26.7.1980. He was promoted as Assistant Professor and joined duty in the Government Engineering College, Kannur on 3.3.1987. While so he was promoted as Principal with effect from 1.10.2002. Subsequently, in 2005, he was transferred and was posted as Principal in the College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram and he continued in that post till he was transferred and posted as Principal in the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kottayam. While so, by Ext.P1 order, he was again transferred and posted as Joint Director in the office of the Director of Technical Education where he joined duty on 25.6.2007. As Joint Director, his probation was declared with effect from 20.7.2000 as per Ext.P4 order.

(2.) In this Writ Petition, the complaint of the petitioner is regarding the ad hoc appointments that are being made to the post of Director of Technical Education. According to the Petitioner, he is the senior most Joint Director in the Technical Education Service and is fully qualified and is eligible to be promoted and posted as Director of Technical Education. It is stated that when the petitioner was transferred and posted as Joint Director, the post was occupied by Sri. Padmanabhan I.A.S. the then Director of Collegiate Education on full additional charge of the post. On completion of his term, Sri. Mavoji I.A.S. the then Controller of Examination was put in full additional charge of the post of the Director of Technical Education. This was followed by Sri. K. Sasidharan I.A.S, who was given full additional charge as per Ext.P5 order. Subsequently, Sri. Puneet Kumar I.A.S. who was the then Joint Excise Commissioner, was put in additional charge of the post by Ext.P6 order. Sri. Puneet Kumar is now on deputation for a period of 5 years and now posted in New Delhi and thereupon Ext.P7 order was issued by the Government on 13.4.2009, authorizing the 2nd respondent, an officer much junior to the petitioner to hold additional charge of the post of Director of Technical Education in the absence of Sri. Puneet Kumar.

(3.) When Ext.P7 order was passed putting the 2nd respondent in additional charge, petitioner submitted Ext.P8 representation, to which he was issued Ext.P9 reply stating that the additional charges are not given on seniority basis and that therefore none can claim additional charge as a matter of right.