KERALA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION Vs. YADHUKRISHNAN P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These original petitions have been filed by the Kerala Public Service Commission ('the PSC') challenging the common order dated 23-11-2018 in OA (EKM) No.1986/2018 and OA (EKM) No.2046/2018 on the file of the Kerala Administrative Tribunal. The two applicants in OA No.1986/2018 are respondents 1 and 2 in OP (KAT) 19/2019 and the sole applicant in OA (EKM) No.2046/2018 is the 1st respondent in OP (KAT) 38/2019. For the sake of clarity the parties are referred to as they appear before the Tribunal unless otherwise indicated.

(2.) The applicants before the Tribunal were included in a ranked list for the post of Sub Inspector of Police (Trainee). The said ranked list was brought into force on 26-05-2015. There was a previous ranked list for the same post which was brought into force on 11-09-2013. The candidates included in that list had raised a dispute regarding filling up of certain Non-Joining Duty (NJD) vacancies. There were interim orders regarding the filling up of the NJD vacancies from the ranked list published on 26-05-2015. The issue raised by candidates included in the ranked list published on 11-09-2013 was decided by a Full Bench of this Court in OP (KAT) No.256/2017 and connected cases,2019 1 KerLT 896 (F.B). We need not for the purpose of this case notice, in any great detail, the fact situation in the cases decided by the Full Bench except to note that this Court held that the candidates included in the ranked list published on 11-09-2013 cannot have any claim to the 93 NJD vacancies which were reported on 12-07-2016. This on the specific finding that on application of 1st proviso to Rule 13 of the Kerala Public Service Commission Rules of Procedure (hereinafter referred to as 'Rules of Procedure' for short) the ranked list published on 11-09-2013 would, after excluding the period of operation of interim orders interdicting the appointments from that list, expire on 10-06-2016. The judgment of the Full Bench was challenged before the Supreme Court. The matter has been decided through judgment dated 24-04- 2020 in Civil Appeal No.2368/2020 and connected civil appeals Reported in 2020 SCC OnLine SC 398.

(3.) The applicants had approached the Tribunal with a prayer that they are entitled to be advised and appointed in respect of vacancies arising and reported upto 01-11-2018. This claim was made on the basis that the only batch that was sent for training from the list published on 26-05-2015 had commenced their training only on 02-10-2018 and therefore that on the application of the 1 st proviso to Rule 13 of the Rules of Procedure, the ranked list published on 26-05- 2015 would continue in force till 01-11-2018. The Tribunal had accepted the case put forth and held that the action of the Public Service Commission in treating the ranked list published on 26-05-2015 as having expired on 25-07-2018, the date on which the 191 candidates were advised from that list cannot be countenanced in the light of the clear provisions of the 1 st proviso to Rule 13 of the Rules of Procedure. The Tribunal therefore held that all vacancies which were reported upto 01-11-2018 have to be filled up from the ranked list published on 26-05-2015. The Tribunal directed the reporting of vacancies (both NJD and otherwise) that had arisen upto 01-11-2018 to the Public Service Commission for advice from the rank list published on 26-05-2015. The Tribunal further directed that advice memos shall be issued to those in the ranked list published on 26-05- 2015 in respect of vacancies so reported and that candidates so advised shall be sent for necessary training by the 3rd respondent before the Tribunal (the State Police Chief). It is challenging these directions that the Public Service Commission had filed the above original petitions.