ABDUL SALAM Vs. GREATER COCHIN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner had commenced service as a Junior Engineer of the Greater Cochin Development Authority ("G.C.D.A.") from 1977. He was promoted as Assistant Executive Engineer in 1979. The promotion was regularised in 1980; and by 1984, he was eligible for further promotion as Executive Engineer in accordance with the Special Rules for the Kerala Engineering Service, as adopted by the G.C.D.A. But instead of promoting him, or the 3rd respondent who was similarly situated, G.C.D.A. extended the deputation of respondents 4 and 5 by Ext. P9 order dated 21-4-1984. These respondents were employees of the Cochin Shipyard Ltd. and were working as Executive Engineers in the G.C.D.A. on deputation. The extension of the deputation was designed to thwart the promotion claims of the petitioner and the 3rd respondent. It was in this background that the Original Petition was filed on 14-5-1984 for quashing Ext. P9. An interim stay of the operation of the said order was also obtained, but in the meanwhile, Government issued Ext. P10 approving a proposal of the G.C.D.A. to fix a ratio of 1:1 between direct recruits and deputationists in its service. The result was that "deputation" became an approved method of recruitment to the services of the G.C. D. A. and in as much as there were only four posts of Executive Engineers in operation, the combined effect of Exts.P9 and P10 was to deny promotion to persons like the petitioner for ever. The Original Petition was therefore amended to include a challenge to Ext. P10 also.

(2.) What Ext. P10 says is that

(3.) The case of the G.C.D.A is this. Its man-power requirements fluctuate from time to time, depending upon the funds available, the schemes on hand and other factors. Additional hands may be required in connection with a particular work, but they will have to be sent out when the work is completed. Some flexibility in the method of recruitment is thus called for. If all the man-power requirements are to be met in the normal course by direct recruitment and promotion, retrenchment and reversions will become the order of the day. On the other hand, people taken on deputation for a particular work can be repatriated to their parent establishments when the work is over. The Authority had therefore considered the matter and taken a decision in November, 1982 to have a ratio of 1:1 between direct recruits (meaning, apparently, both direct recruits and promotees) and deputationists. Exts. R1(a) to Ext. R1(d) will show that the matter was under correspondence with the Government, before Ext. P10 order was passed on 16-5-1984.