STATE OF KERALA Vs. CHITRA S.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The key issue in these cases is whether Assistant Surgeons appointed under the Kerala Health Service (Medical Officers) Special Rules, 2010 ('Special Rules, for short) who have exercised the option for placement in the Speciality Cadre can later relinquish their right to such an appointment under Rule 38 of Part II of Kerala State and Subordinate Service Rules ('KS&SSR').

(2.) The petitioners are Assistant Surgeons in the Kerala State Health Service. Both petitioners opted for placement in the Speciality Cadre in 2013. However, in 2024, they submitted a request to relinquish their right to such an appointment in the Speciality Cadre, citing personal inconveniences. The Government rejected their request for relinquishment (the request made by one of them was not acted upon by the Government) on the ground that Rule 6 of the Special Rules prohibits it. The Government further proceeded to post them in the Speciality Cadre. Aggrieved by this decision, the petitioners approached the Kerala Administrative Tribunal. Through the impugned common order, the Tribunal found that the petitioners are entitled to relinquish the option exercised by them as per the provisions of Rule 38 of KS&SSR, dehors the inhibition in Rule 6 of the Special Rules.

(3.) The Government challenged this finding through these original petitions, contending that Rule 6 of the Special Rules overrides the provisions in Rule 38 of the KS&SSR. Since both cases involve common questions of law, they are being disposed of together, with O.P. (KAT) No. 420/2024 as the leading case.