NOUSHAD Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The legal question that requires a decision in this group of Original Petitions/Writ Petitions is common. They had been heard together and are being disposed of by a common judgment.

(2.) Sri T. P. Kelu Nambiar, Senior Counsel and assisted by M/s K. Subash Chandra Bose, D. Somasundaram, B. Mohanlal, G. Sasidharan Champazhanthiyil, T. N. Manoj, Shoby K. Francis, N. Nagaresh, V. Chitambaresh, Bobby Joseph, S. Muhammed Haneeff, Sreeprakash K. Nair, M. R. Rajesh, S. Krishnamoorthy, Philip T. Varghese, P. A. Sibu Rahim, Ramakrishnan, C. V. Bindu, I. V. Pramod, V. K. Sunil, P. R. Venketesh, Noushad Thottathil, Suresh Kumar Kodoth, Grashious Kuriakose, Vijayan Meleth and Smt. K. Indu represented the cause of the petitioners. We had opportunity to hear Mr. P. Nandakumar, learned Government Pleader, who represented the respondents.

(3.) The petitioners had been recruited as Police Constables, and the earliest of them had entered service in 1993. Recruitment of Police Constables, as envisaged by the Kerala Police Subordinate Services (Armed Police Battalions) Special Rules, was initially being made on State basis. Candidates could have opted to go over to Battalions to which they liked to be posted. However, the workability of this system was found to be wanting. Therefore, a change had been brought about, whereby the candidates were to be allowed to opt for one Battalion only, and as a consequence, in case they wished for transfer, that could have been only to the respective District Armed Reserve earmarked for the Battalion.