TRAVANCORE DEVASWOM BOARD Vs. RAJESH S.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These Review Petitions are filed against the interim order passed on 18.08.2020, by which the Review Petitioner-the Travancore Devaswom Board was directed to see the appointment of the 49 persons who are yet to be appointed when candidates ranked below them are already appointed from the rank list of Watchers, published by the Board. Such an order was passed seeing that submission was made on behalf of the Board on 19.03.2019 in W.P.(C)Nos.26132/2018 and 26311 of 2018 that the Board had decided that since there are hundred vacancies of Watchers, the petitioners in those writ petitions can be appointed as Watchers. Recording the said submission, this Court directed the Board to appoint the petitioners in both those writ petitions. Board appointed the petitioners in both those writ petitions again in disregard of the rank in the rank list. The respondents in these Writ Petitions are candidates ranked above the petitioners in those writ petitions.

(2.) The respondents in these Review Petitions are candidates included in the rank list of Watchers published on 09.07.2012. In W.P.(C) No.16605 of 2013 and connected cases, this Court had directed the Board to appoint candidates against the substantive vacancies of Watchers that had arisen during the currency of the rank list, before the expiry of the rank list. Under the guise of orders passed by this court in C.O.C.No.1443/2015, the Board made appointments from among candidates who had reported before it alone, without issuing any individual notices to all the candidates in the order of their rank in the rank list/without giving sufficient publicity. Appointments were made in total disregard of merit reflected in the rank list. In W.A.No.1011/2016 and connected cases, this Court had set aside 74 appointments made in disregard of merit and directed the Review Petitioner herein to make appointments in accordance with the rank in the rank list.

(3.) It is after the said Division Bench judgment, that the Board again decided to appoint the petitioners in W.P.(C) Nos.26132/2018 and 26311/2018 and submitted before this Court on 19.03.2019 their willingness for the appointment of petitioners therein, saying that there are 100 vacancies of Watchers. Such a decision was taken when several others ranked above them have been waiting for employment. The Board which is a party to the judgment in the Writ Appeal has thus once again made appointments from the very same rank list in disregard of the merit and in disregard of the directions contained in the judgment of the Division Bench. The respondents in all these cases who are candidates ranked above the petitioners in those cases, are left without any employment, while several persons ranked below them are continuing in employment.