SREEDHARAN Vs. DIRECTOR OF INDUSTRIES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Public Service Commission selected the petitioner for appointment as a Lower Division Clerk and empanelled him in the ranked list. Thereafter, the Commission advised him for appointment in Cannanore District Revenue Establishment in advice letter dated 30-3-1977.

(2.) The District Collector in his letter dated 4-4-1977 required the petitioner to submit his proforma for verification of character and antecedents. Petitioner filed that within time. While others were appointed before verification but subject to regularisation under the proviso to R.10(b) of the Kerala State and Subordinate Services Rules (hereinafter referred to as the General Rules), the petitioner was appointed only after three months. Apparently since there was no vacancy in Cannanore District Revenue Establishment, the Public Service Commission advised the petitioner for appointment in one of the Headquarters vacancies. In that advice memo also, the date of first effective advice of the petitioner was shown as 30-3-1977. The Director of Ports, Trivandrum required the petitioner to join duty in his letter dated 2-7-1977 and the petitioner complied by joining duty on 1-8-1977. While continuing as Lower Division Clerk in the Directorate of Ports, successful completion of probation in the category of Lower Division Clerk was declared as on 7-8-1980. That was by order dated 10-8-1980. In the meantime, petitioner had requested in his representation dated 30-6-1980 that he may be posted in Cannanore District, which unit he had indicated while applying for appointment and for appointment in which he was initially advised by the District Office of the Commission. During the pendency of that representation, Government issued Ext. P1 G.O.Ms.442/80/GAD dated 26-9-1980 and Ext. P2 G.O.Ms.180/81/GAD dated 3-6-1981, modifying and relaxing the conditions of service of staff on inter district and inter departmental transfers of candidates recruited on district wise basis and appointed in Headquarters vacancies.

(3.) According to Para.5 of Ext. P1, the requirement that the transferee should have served for a period of five years would not apply to candidates who were advised for appointment in the Headquarters vacancies, so that he could get transfer to the District of his choice without insisting on the period of limit of five years, and the resultant vacancy at the Headquarters should be allotted to the same District from where the candidate was originally advised for recruitment so that the particular District may not lose any turn as a result of the transfer of the candidate. Thereafter, Government passed Ext. P3 order on 17-7-1981, agreeing to the inter departmental transfer of the petitioner to the District of his choice, and directed the Director of Industries and Commerce to give a posting to the petitioner in the Industries Department. Pursuant to Ext. P3, the Director of Industries appointed him as Lower Division Clerk in the Coir Project Office, Cannanore in his order dated 22-7-1981, in which post he joined duty on 3-8-1981. The posting order indicated that his inter departmental transfer was subject to G.O.Ms.4/61/PD dated 2-1-1961 and the conditions in G.O.Ms.442/80/GAD dated 26-9-1980 read with G.O.Ms.180/81/GAD dated 3-6-1981.