A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Thursday directed the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) to appoint those who are advised by the State Public Service Commission (PSC) from the rank list in the order of seniority as reserve conductors after dispensing with the service of empanelled conductors who have not completed 10 years and 120 days of minimum service in a year.
The Bench comprising Justice V. Chitambaresh and R. Narayana Pisharadi passed the directive on an appeal filed by those candidates advised by the PSC challenging a single judge verdict dismissing their plea for a directive to appoint them in the posts of reserved conductors.
The single judge while dismissing a batch of petitions observed that persons included in the ranked list published by the PSC, had no legal right to seek appointment against vacancies which were not in existence. Moreover, appointment after terminating the empanelled conductors could not be sought as they were not made parties in the petitions.
While issuing the directive, the Division Bench observed that the empanelled conductors who had completed 10 years of service and 120 days of minimum service in a year were entitled to regularisation by way of the government order issued on November 21, 2013. The government order had been approved in a series of litigations by the High Court and Supreme Court. But those who did not cross the above cut off marks were not entitled to cling on to the posts after vacancies were reported to the PSC on the basis of the rank list dated May 9, 2013.
The KSRTC had taken a stand before the single judge that the Corporation had taken a decision not to make any further appointment because of the financial crisis. In fact, some of those empanelled employees who have 10 years of service and minimum of 120 days of minimum service in a year as on December 22, 2011, were regularised in terms of a bipartite settlement between KSRTC and recognised trade unions..
The Bench ordered that the needful be done in one week. The officials of the KSRTC would face contempt proceedings if the order was not complied with, the court said.
