KAVITHA CHANDRAN C.I. Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The applicant in O.A.No.55 of 2026 on the file of the Kerala Administrative Tribunal, Thiruvananthapuram, ('the Tribunal' for short) has filed this original petition, invoking the supervisory jurisdiction of this Court under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, being dissatisfied with the declining of the interim order sought by the petitioner, as per Ext.P2 order dtd. 16/1/2026 passed by the Tribunal.

(2.) The petitioner approached the Tribunal with O.A.No.55 of 2026 filed under Sec. 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, seeking the following reliefs:

(3.) By Annexure A1 notification dtd. 31/12/2025, the Kerala Public Service Commission (KPSC for short) invited applications for the post of Assistant Professor (Pharmacy). The upper age limit prescribed for the post in Annexure A1 notification is 41 years. According to the petitioner, she possesses M.Pharm (basic academic qualification for the post of Assistant Professor) and also PhD in Pharmaceutical Science and satisfies all the eligible criteria for the post of Assistant Professor (Pharmacy), notified as per Annexure A1 notification, except the age criteria. The petitioner is now working as a Pharmacist Grade-I in the District Tuberculosis Centre and is very experienced in the discipline. According to the petitioner, the fixation of a low upper age limit has the effect of systematically eliminating experienced hands, while disproportionately favouring younger and less experienced candidates. Contending that the age restriction prescribed in Annexure A1 notification is contrary to the UGC Regulations, 2018, and the PCI Regulations, 2014, both of which consciously do not prescribe any upper age limit for appointment to the post of Assistant Professor, the petitioner filed the original application. In the original application, the petitioner has sought for an interim relief to stay the operation of Annexure A1 notification till the disposal of the original application or in the alternate permit the petitioner to submit her application and to participate in the selection process provisionally, subject to the final outcome of the original application. On 16/1/2026, when the original application came up for consideration, the Tribunal passed the impugned Ext.P2 order, which reads thus: