AYISHA Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) O. P. No. 11080/90 is filed by the Manager of Kadavathur high School, Kannur and O. P. No. 14863/93 is filed by three High School assistants and one menial staff of the same school, challenging the same order and therefore, they are being disposed of by this common judgment.

(2.) PETITIONERS 1 to 3 in the second original petition are high School Assistants and 4th petitioner is a menial staff of the school. They are qualified to hold their posts. Their services were approved and they were paid the salary. While so, the Super Check Officer, Kozhikode, who is one of the respondents in both the cases, passed an order dated 25. 3. 1988, (Ext. P3 in the first case and Ext. P1 in the second case), cancelling the posts held by the above teachers and menial staff. As against the said order, the Manager approached the Government by way of filing a revision, without success.

(3.) THE Super Check Officer is purported to have exercised powers conferred on him under R. 16 of Chapter XXIII of the Kerala Educational rules. THE said R. 16 may be usefully extracted as follows:} "16. Notwithstanding anything contained in these rules any officer authorised by the Government in this behalf shall, for the purpose of checking the staff fixation proceedings made by the Education department, call for the relevant records and make enquiries to find out whether any irregularity has been committed in staff fixation. In the course of the said enquiry, the authorised officer can inspect schools, verify the strength of pupils, check the area of class-rooms, call for records from headmasters, Managers and Educational Officers and do such other acts as may be deemed necessary. As soon as the enquiry is over, the authorised offer shall send a detailed report thereon to the Director of Public Instruction for appropriate action in the matter". It is clear from R. 16 that the power of the Super Check officer is only to conduct an appropriate enquiry in regard to the staff fixation and then make are port in that behalf to the Director of Public instruction, for appropriate action. THE power to modify the orders of subordinate officers in the matter of staff fixation is conferred on the director of Public Instruction under sub-rule (3) of R. 12 (e) of Chapter XXIII of the Kerala Education Rules.