Y.ALOSIUS Vs. KERALA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) QUESTION involved in all these writ petitions is whether the empanelled Drivers working in KSRTC are entitled for relaxation of upper age limit prescribed under the Notification published by Public Service Commission (PSC) for direct recruitment of Reserve Drivers in KSRTC. Through Gazette Notification dated 15-07-2010, PSC invited applications for the direct recruitment (copy of the Gazette Notification is produced as Ext.P1 in W.P (c) No.10757/2012). One among the qualification prescribed is that the candidates should be within the age limit of 21 to 40 years. Or in other words candidates born between

(2.) -01-1970 and 01-01-1989 alone were eligible to apply, subject to relaxations provided for candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes and other Backward communities. Concession was provided in the Notification with respect to the upper age limit for provisional hands working in KSRTC, subject to condition that the maximum age limit shall not exceed 50 years. The concession provided in the Notification is as follows.-

(3.) CONTENTION of the petitioners is that, service rendered by them as empanelled Drivers is provisional service and going by the wordings in Ext.P1 Gazette Notification they are entitled for relaxation in the upper age limit. It is pointed out that all of them have produced certificates obtained from the unit offices of KSRTC concerned, to the effect that they were working as empanelled Drivers with effect from different dates and that they were not working in the regular service of the Corporation. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner in W.P (c) No.10947/2012 had pointed out that the certificate obtained by one of the petitioners will indicate that he was included in the panel of provisional Drivers recruited through Employment Exchange and the engagement was purely on provisional basis. It is contended that, considering the extent of provisional service put in and also considering the fact that they were within the prescribed age limit at the time of first entry into the service of KSRTC, they are entitled for relaxation in upper age limit.