JAYAKUMAR Vs. KERALA AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, appointed as a Farm Assistant (Agricultural Grade-II) in the Kerala Agricultural University by an order dtd. 14/8/1997, was later appointed as Technical Assistant as per order dtd. 3/4/1998 on the basis of an internal selection.

(2.) On completion of 8 years of service in that grade, he was granted time bound higher Grade, and the petitioner was promoted as Technical Officer Gr.II by order dtd. 3/6/2010 with effect from 21-4- 2006. While the petitioner was holding a substantive post of Technical Officer Grade II in the University, the University issued a notification dtd. 9/10/2007, inviting applications for appointment to the post of Assistant Professors in various disciplines as per Ext. P3 notification. Petitioner applied for the post of Assistant Professor in the discipline of Agronomy and was appointed as per the order of the university dtd. 8/8/2011 as Assistant Professor in the scale of pay of Rs.15600.0039100. He was posted as Assistant Professor in Agronomy at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kannur, on relieving him from the post of Technical Assistant Grade -II on 16/8/2011. An agreement dated 17-8- 2011 was also executed with the university.

(3.) Petitioner submits that the provisions in the Kerala Service Rules, Part - I are made applicable to the University and thus entitled to get the protection of pay that he drew earlier in the Technical Officer Grade post -II under the same University. He made a request, Ext. P8 on 14/12/2011, which was not considered. Petitioner had moved this Court in W.P. ( C ) No. 14254 of 2012 which was disposed of by Ext. P9 judgment directing the University to pass orders on the representation. By Ext. P10, University rejected the petitioner's request for protection of pay drawn in the post of Technical Officer Grade-II but allowed the petitioner's request regarding carrying over the leave accrued during the previous service after getting clarification from the Government. The reasons stated in Ext. P10 is that the protection of pay under Rule 37 (b) Part I KSR is applicable only in cases where appointments were made only in accordance with the special rules applicable and since the petitioner was not appointed in accordance with the special rules but as per an agreement executed by him at the time of joining the post of Assistant Professor in the UGC Scheme. Thus, contending that his scale of pay, increment, mode of appointment, and retirement age is entirely different under the UGC Scheme to the state's Scheme where he earlier worked, the request for protection of pay was rejected by Ext. P10, which is impugned in this Writ Petition.