STATE OF KERALA Vs. RAMLA N.S.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The controversy raised herein has its genesis in the claim for transfer as raised by two Live Stock Inspectors [for brevity "LSI"] Grade-I, who wish to go out of the districts in which they were appointed as LSI Grade-II and then promoted as LSI Grade-I. They claimed that LSI Gr-I has a State-wide seniority list and is a State-wise post, to which transfer has to be carried out in accordance with the norms of the Government laid down for transfer of Government servants. Admittedly LSI Grade-I was also considered as District-wise posts and retained in the very same district for long. The Tribunal found that the LSI Grade-I and Assistant Field Officer [for brevity "AFO"], both promotion posts in the Subordinate Services, are State level posts and the transfers made of the incumbents would be treated as a general connected cases transfer and not inter-district transfer, the latter of which is subject to loss of seniority. of 2018 are persons included in the rank list of the Kerala Public Service Commission [for brevity "PSC"] for recruitment to the post of LSI Grade-II in Thiruvananthapuram and Alappuzha Districts. They have no quarrel with the finding of the Tribunal that LSI Grade-I is a State level post. However, they are aggrieved with the further determination of the Tribunal as to in which district the vacancy of LSI Grade-II arise so as to report to the PSC.

(2.) The petitioners assert that this was not a ground which was raised in the Tribunal and there was no scope for the Tribunal to go into such matters.

(3.) The State has filed O.P(KAT) No.247 of 2018 seeking to affirm its opinion that posts in LSI Grade-I are also District-wise posts. One LSI Grade-I from Thrissur has filed an impleading petition in O.P(KAT) No.247 of 2018, who is impleaded as additional respondent No.3, to sustain the contentions of the connected cases State. He apprehends his transfer from Thrissur if the Tribunal's order is upheld and claims that he is eligible to be continued in Thrissur till a promotion post arises in the post of Field Officer, which is in the State Services as distinguished from the Subordinate Services. Field Officer is also the promotion post of Assistant Field Officer. The fact that Field Officer is in the State services while all other services are in the Subordinate Services of the State, is the ground on which the additional respondent seeks his retention in the District of Thrissur, to which he was recruited, till he is eligible to be appointed as Field Officer on promotion. The applicants before the Tribunal as also the petitioners herein urge that it is not the categorization of services as State and subordinate which distinguishes the posts as District-wise and State-wise.