M.V. VASUDEVAN NAIR Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE challenge in these writ petitions is directed against the legality and validity of the Special Rules issued by the State Government in respect of the posts of Head Clerks including Head Accountants,Upper Division Clerks and Lower Division Clerks borne on the establishment of the Land Revenue Department of the State Government as per G.O.( P)No.413/RD .,dated 14th May 1975.

(2.) IN R.1 of the impugned Rules it is stated that the Rules shall be deemed to have come into force on the 1st November 1956 except to the extent otherwise provided for therein.The provisions of the impugned Rules are intended to govern the personnel working in the categories aforementioned in the Land Revenue Department of the Kerala State.They consist mainly of three groups,viz .,those who were originally borne on the Travancore - Cochin cadre and have been allotted to the Kerala State,those who came over to Kerala State Service from the erstwhile composite Madras State consequent on the reorganisation of States,and lastly those who were recruited in the Kerala State on or after 1st November 1956.Until the date of the issue of the impugned Rules,the personnel in groups 1 and 3 were not governed by any statutory Rules in respect of the matters now dealt with in the Special Rules whereas the personnel in group No.2 were governed by the provisions contained in the Madras Ministerial Service Rules.It is specifically recited in the preamble to the impugned Rules that the Special Rules are issued in supersession of all the pre existing rules and orders on the subject.The result is that the Madras Ministerial Service Rules stand repealed by the Special Rules with effect from 1st November 1956.

(3.) THE circumstances that led to the filing of the present writ petitions may now be briefly indicated: In a Government Order dated 25th February 1957 Government directed that until common service rules applicable to all the officers of the Kerala State are framed and issued,officers allotted to Kerala from the erstwhile States of Travancore - Cochin and Madras will continue to be governed by the service rules of the state to which they belonged prior to 1st November 1956.It was further provided by the said order that persons who were only appointed into Kerala Government service on or after 1st November 1956 will be governed by the Travancore Service Regulations till unified rules are framed.The Travancore Service Regulations do not contain any provisions laying down the qualifications for promotion from the category of lower division clerks to that of upper division clerks.The resultant position was that the lower division clerks recruited in the revenue establishment after 1st November 1956 were not governed by any specific rules or orders laying down qualifications for promotion to the upper division.