V G ACHAMMA Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE question raised in this writ petition is In regard to the proper construction and scope of the proviso to R. 14 (a) of the Kerala State and Subordinate Service Rules and its inter-relation to R. 17a of the said rules. THE relevant portion of R. 14 (a) and the entire R. 17a may conveniently be extracted: "14. Reservation of appointments Where the special rules lay down that the principle of reservation of appointments shall apply to any service, class or category or where in the case of any service, class or category for which no special rules have been issued, the Government have by notification in the Gazette declared that the principle of reservation of appointments shall apply to such service, class or category, appointments by direct recruitment to such service; class or category shall be made on the following basis: (a) THE unit of appointment for the purpose of this rule shall be 20, of which two shall be reserved for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes and 8 shall be reserved for the other backward classes and the remaining 10 shall be filled on the basis of merit: Provided that one out out of every five posts reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes shall go to a Scheduled Tribe candidate and only in the absence of a Scheduled Tribe candidate, it shall go to a Scheduled Caste candidate". 17a. Special recruitment from among the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes: Notwithstanding anything contained in these rules or in the special rules, the State Government may reserve a specified number of posts in any service, class, category or grade to be filled by direct recruitment exclusively from among the members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled tribes. "

(2.) THE petitioner would read the proviso to R. 14 (a) as an independent provision and would contend that whether the recruitment be general, in the sense of being thrown open to all, or special, as restricted only to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, in every recruitment, where there are Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, one out of every five candidates shall be from a Scheduled Tribe. It is unnecessary for us to express an opinion on this contention; because even assuming that the proviso is an independent provision and not part of R. 14, R. 17a opens with a non obstinate clause which gets rid of even R. 14 and of the sub-clauses and provisos thereto. Under R. 17a it is open to the Government to reserve a specified number of posts to be filled up by direct recruitment exclusively from among the members of scheduled Castes and Tribes. That was what was done in this case; and in doing so, there is no rider or proviso such as what we get in R. 14 (a) of the Rules, ordaining that one out of every five shall be from the Scheduled Tribes. So long as there is no rider or limitation on the Government's right of action under R. 17a, the petitioner, a member of the Scheduled Tribe, cannot have any grievance that under Ext. P6 list, be would rank only as No. 14, below the thirteen other Scheduled Caste candidates. We dismiss this writ petition, but make no order, as to costs. . .