RAJESH KRISHNAN R. Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The writ petition is filed seeking appointment of the petitioner to the post of Worker in the Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited, Chavara, Kollam (for short 'the company') under the preferential category, taking into consideration Exts.P1 to P3, P5, P6, P8 and P10 to P14.

(2.) For the formation of the company, during the period from 1978 to 1982, the Government acquired land. Pursuant to the said acquisition, the company had taken a policy decision, with the concurrence of the Government, to provide preference to one person from each family whose land was acquired, for appointment in the worker category in the company. However, preferential category employees were also required to participate in open selection and were entitled to selection only if all criteria were found to be equal.

(3.) While so, on 16/3/2020, a meeting was held under the chairmanship of the Minister for Industries, wherein, it was decided that the persons who were originally employed in the company through LAPA (Land Acquired People's Association), the fourth respondent, would be engaged as Direct Contract Workers (DCW) of the company. A total of 743 workers engaged by LAPA were identified, and a decision was taken that all those workers would be engaged on a contract basis directly by the company for a minimum period of 18 days per month. It is submitted that on the basis of the said list, 733 persons were appointed on 1/6/2020 and 2/6/2020.