S.R. SELVARAJ Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner who was working as a District Statistical Officer in Cannanore impugns the order Ex. P4 reverting him from that post to that of a Research Assistant. He has also challenged the orders Exs. P2 and P5 passed by the 1st respondent, the State of Kerala declaring that the 3rd and 4th respondents respectively have satisfactorily completed their probation and further exempting them from the test qualifications that is made obligatory for holding the Post of District Statistical Officers by the Special Rules applicable to the Kerala Statistics and Economics Service. The facts are these:

(2.) The petitioner as well as respondents 3 and 4 Were appointed to the category of District Statistical officers/Senior Research Assistants/Special Officers mentioned in R.1 of the Special Rules applicable to the Kerala Statistics and Economics Service. The petitioner passed the test prescribed for the category of officers mentioned by me above by R.6 of the above rules and he also satisfactorily completed his probation. The 3rd and 4th respondents however admittedly did not pass the above test Within the prescribed period of probation which is two years (vide R.4 of the Special Rules). Their periods of probation Were extended and before the expiry of the extended period, respondents 3 and 4 did not acquire the test qualifications. The Government however passed the order Ex. P2 as far as the 3rd respondent is concerned and applied the same order by Ex. P5 to the 4th respondent. The order Ex. P2 states that since the 3rd respondent was allowed to continue in the post of a Special Officer coming within the category mentioned above after the expiry of the extended period, it has to be deemed that there has been an order declaring that the 3rd respondent had satisfactorily completed his probation. Having come to this conclusion, the order proceeded to state that the position being as stated above, the 3rd respondent Who had not passed the test qualification on the date or Ex. P2 is exempted from possessing the test qualification. The same order has been made applicable, as I said, to the 4th respondent.

(3.) Reliance has been placed on the ruling of the Supreme Court in the State of Punjab v. Dharam Singh reported in AIR 1968 SC 1210 by counsel on behalf of the respondents in support of the orders passed by the 1st respondent. I don't think this decision has any application. The rules applicable are the Kerala State and Subordinate Service Rules, 1958 subject of course to the Special Rules already referred to. As I read R.19(b)(i) and 19(b)(ii), Para.2, of the Kerala State and Subordinate Services Rules, 1958, it is obligatory on the part of the authority to discharge a person who had not passed the prescribed test qualification before the completion of the prescribed period of probation or the extended period of probation. R.19(b)(i) and 19 (b)(ii) are in these terms: --