KERALA HIGH TENSION AND EXTRA HIGH TENSION INDUSTRIAL ELECTRICITY CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) As the Writ Appeals and Writ Petition involve a common issue, they are taken up together for consideration and disposed by this common judgment.

(2.) The issue that arises for consideration in these cases is the legality of a selection process carried out for selection of a member of the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission [hereinafter referred to as the "KSERC"]. Although the selection process is ongoing, a challenge to the same has been laid by persons who have been excluded from the selection process at various stages on account of the shortlisting criteria fixed by the Selection Committee. While the petitioner in W.P.(C).No.19531 of 2022 is aggrieved by his exclusion on account of his not satisfying the age requirement specified in the shortlisting criteria, the appellant in W.A.No.718 of 2022 and the 2nd appellant in W.A.No.673 of 2022 are those who are aggrieved by their exclusion in the subsequent stages of shortlisting, with the latter being excluded on account of non-production of ACR/VC [Annual Confidential Report/Vigilance Clearance] in relation to his previous employment, which too was a criteria adopted by the Selection Committee for shortlisting. The brief facts necessary for disposal of these cases are as follows:

(3.) As already noticed, it was on account of their exclusion at various stages of the shortlisting procedure that the petitioner/appellants approached the writ court. In the judgment impugned in the Writ Appeals, the learned Single Judge dismissed the writ petitions inter alia on the ground that the petitioner having participated in the selection process could not challenge it, that there was no merit in the allegations raised in the writ petition with regard to the manner of conduct of the selection, and lastly that an Association could not file a writ petition on behalf of its members. The separate judgments of the learned Single Judge in the writ petitions are impugned in W.A.No.673 of 2022 and W.A.No.718 of 2022 respectively. W.P.(C).No.19531 of 2022 was directed to be posted along with the aforesaid Writ Appeals by a learned Single Judge of this Court taking note of the similarity in the issue that was being considered. It is thus that these mattes are before us today.