ABEY GEORGE Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, who was appointed as a Director of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Agency (MGNERGA) Social Audit Society, is aggrieved by the premature termination of his services ordered in Ext.P3 dated 04.12.2019 of the Government.

(2.) According to the petitioner, he was appointed to the post of Director on being successful in a regular process of selection, which started with a notification inviting applications followed by a competitive interview, held by a Committee constituted by the Chief Secretary of the State, in accordance with the guidelines issued in G.O(Rt) No.2648/2016/LSGD dated 08.09.2016. It is stated that he was the 1st rank holder in the select list.

(3.) Petitioner was working as an Associate Professor in the Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA). He was appointed as Director of the Society as per Ext.P1 order for a period of three years on deputation basis. The petitioner points out that Ext.P3 order of termination was issued even before he completed 3 years and without following the procedure prescribed in Ext.P4 Auditing Standards for Social Audit as well as Ext.P5 Annual Master Circular 2019-20 issued by the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India. It is stated that the post of Director is having very high responsibilities involving Social Auditing of the MGNERGA programs. Ext.P4 provides for the qualification for appointment to the post of Director. The conditions regarding selection and appointment provided in Ext.P4 are as follows: