SARATHKUMAR K. Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The captioned Original Petitions are filed challenging the common order dated 28.11.2019 passed by the Kerala Administrative Tribunal, Thiruvananthapuram in O.A. Nos. 1535 of 2019 and 2009 of 2019, whereby the Administrative Tribunal dismissed the Original Applications and declined the challenge made against the amendment to the Kerala Administrative Service Amendment Rules, 2019 ('Amendment Rules, 2019' for short) made by the State Government as per notification dated 11.07.2019 amending certain provisions of the Kerala Administrative Service Rules, 2018 ('Rules, 2018' for short), and further held that the caste and community reservation made by the State Government for the recruitment of the employees to the Kerala Administrative Service from streams 2 and 3 as per the Amendment Rules, 2019 and reservation made to Stream 1 direct recruitment as it stood originally in the Rules, 2018 was in accordance with law. The writ petitions tagged on are public interest litigations filed by a registered society basically challenging the caste and community reservation made by the State Government in Rules, 2018 as amended by Rules, 2019. Therefore, on agreement, we heard them together and proposed to pass this common judgment.

(2.) The prime and basic question originated for consideration is, whether the caste reservation made in the direct recruitment to the Kerala Administrative Service in accordance with the Amendment Rules, 2019 under streams 2 and 3 of the Rules, 2018, from among the employees of the various services under the Government is in accordance with law?. Incidentally, it is made clear that in O.P (KAT) No. 58 of 2020, caste reservation under Stream 1 by direct recruitment from open category is also under challenge. In order to answer the said question, relevant facts available from OP(KAT) No. 506 of 2019 is relied upon. The contentions in the writ petition and its maintainability would be considered separately .

(3.) Petitioners in OP(KAT) Nos. 506 of 2009 and 58 of 2020 are apparently applicants to the Kerala Administrative Service (KAS) and they are challenging Rules 2(1), 3(i), and 3(ii)(c) of the Amendment Rules, 2019, which was brought into force by notification dated 11.07.2019, by which caste reservation and age relaxation are extended to streams 1, 2 and 3 of the Kerala Administrative Service Rules. According to the petitioners, they are qualified to aspire for by-transfer recruitment to KAS envisaged in the stream 2 under Rule 12 of the Rules, 2018. Which thus means, the petitioners are working in various disciplines of the State Government service, who are entitled to apply for Kerala Administrative Service Rules and they belong to non-reserved category.