C.M. ANTONY Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition comes before us on a reference by a learned Single Judge of this Court. The petitioner seeks a declaration that Para.7 of Ex. P1 is illegal as being opposed to S.115(7) of the States Reorganisation Act and to quash the appointment of the 2nd respondent as Chief Engineer as per Ex. P8. The petitioner is the Superintending Engineer, National Highways, Ernakulam, and the 2nd respondent was Superintending Engineer, Irrigation, South Circle, Trivandrum when the petition was filed. He has since been promoted as Chief Engineer (Irrigation).

(2.) The petitioner entered service in the erstwhile Cochin State and the 2nd respondent in the erstwhile Travancore State as Junior Engineers. Both were promoted as Assistant Engineers in the Public Works Department. The integration of the erstwhile princely State of Travancore and Cochin took place on 1-7-1949. Although most of the departments of the two States were integrated, the Public Works Departments of both the States were kept separate maintaining separate seniority lists. The promotion in the said department was effected on the basis of a ratio 1:3 for Cochin and Travancore officers respectively. The personnel of Travancore State were to continue as old cadre (Travancore) and those of Cochin State as old cadre (Cochin).

(3.) In 1956 when the States Reorganisation became a certainty and the formation of the Kerala State imminent, the then Travancore Cochin Government felt that integration of the officers of the Public Works Department was necessary before forming an integrated Kerala list of officers. Accordingly the Government by G. O. dated 24-10-1956 marked as Ex. R2 ordered that these two wings of the Public Works Department be integrated in a common gradation list as on 1-4-1956. And a list was also prepared according to which the petitioner's rank was 35 among permanent Assistant Engineers and that of the 2nd respondent 36.