R PRABHAKARAN NAIR Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The questions raised in these two petitions are the same, and very briefly stated and they relate to the complaints of persons who have been working in the Civil Supplies Department in the State which was mace a separate department. Admittedly from the year 1962 the promotion posts available in the department were not exclusively reserved for those working in the Civil Supplies Department but 50 percent of such posts were reserved for promotions of persons working in the Revenue Department in the State. The pleadings in these cases are fairly elaborate. When the petitions were filed, the reservations of a percentage of the promotion posts for those in the Revenue Department were governed by executive orders and such orders have been impugned in these petitions. We are however not referring to these executive orders in view of the subsequent events that have taken place; framing of Special Rules by the State Government under the Kerala Public Services Act, 1968 relating to the Kerala Civil Supplies Service and the Kerala Civil Supplies Subordinate Service. These Rules have been produced as Exts. P9 in O. P. No. 1022 and as Exts. P32 and P33 in O. P. No. 4790 of 1970 and the two original petitions have been amended to include the relief of setting aside these rules. These rules naturally supersede the earlier orders and govern the matter of promotions. The only question therefore now arising for determination is whether there are grounds for setting aside these rules. We assume for the present that all persons working in the Civil Supplies Department are now to be governed by these rules. We will be dealing with this question whether they are all governed by these rules presently.

(2.) We shall be referring to the exhibits in O. P. No. 1022 of 1970

(3.) We shall first refer to the contention regarding the validity of the rules. Counsel for the petitioners has contended that Exts. P19 and P20 were framed by the State Government in exercise of the power conferred by S.2 of the Kerala Public Services Act, 1968 and that this power conferred on the State Government under S.2 of the Kerala Public Services Act is not a valid provision in view of the provision in Art.309 of the Constitution. S.2(1) is in these terms: