Corporate Manager vs State Of Kerala on 30 March, 2009

       

  

  

 
 
  IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM

WP(C).No. 7607 of 2009(U)


1. CORPORATE MANAGER,
                      ...  Petitioner

                        Vs



1. STATE OF KERALA,
                       ...       Respondent

2. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION,

3. DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION,

4. THE ASSISTANT EDUCATION OFFICER,

5. THE ACCOUNTANT GENERAL,

                For Petitioner  :SRI.J.JULIAN XAVIER

                For Respondent  : No Appearance

The Hon'ble MR. Justice P.N.RAVINDRAN

 Dated :30/03/2009

 O R D E R
                              P.N.Ravindran, J.
                           ==================
                         W.P.(C) No.7607 of 2009
                        =====================

                Dated this the 30th day of March, 2009.

                                JUDGMENT

Heard Sri. Firoz K.Robin, the learned counsel appearing for the

petitioner and Sri. A.J.Varghese, the learned Government Pleader

appearing for the respondents.

2. The petitioner is the Corporate Manager of the educational

institutions established and administered by the Carmelite Congregation

of Sisters. Ext.P1 staff fixation order in respect of St. John the Baptist

Convent Lower Primary School, Pariyaram for the academic year 1996-97

was issued by the Assistant Educational Officer, Chalakudy on 14.7.1997.

Ext.P1 was revised by Ext.P6 order dated 15.6.1998 passed by the

Director of Public Instruction. After five years, the Joint Director of Public

Instruction reviewed Ext.P6 and passed Ext.P8 order dated 30.6.2003.

Aggrieved by Ext.P8, the petitioner moved the Government in Ext.P9

revision petition under Rule 12F of Chapter XXIII of the Kerala Education

Rules and thereafter filed W.P.(C) No.7615 of 2008 in this Court. By

Ext.P11 judgment delivered on 6.3.2008, this Court directed the

WP(C)7607/09 -: 2 :-

Government to pass orders on Ext.P9 revision petition within two months

from the date of receipt of a copy of the judgment. The Government

thereafter passed Ext.P12 order dated 3.9.2008 upholding Ext.P8. The

petitioner challenges Ext.P12 mainly on the ground that before it was

passed, the petitioner was not put on notice or heard. The learned

Government Pleader appearing for the respondents submitted on

instructions that before the Ext.P12 order was passed, the petitioner was

not put on notice or heard for the reason that there was no such request

in Ext.P9.

3. Ext.P9 is a statutory revision filed by the Manager before the

Government under Rule 12F of Chapter XXIII of the Kerala Education

Rules. The dispute relates to the staff fixation order for the academic

year 1997-1998. The staff fixation order was revised five years later by

Ext.P8 order dated 30.6.2003 passed by the Director of Public

Instruction. Since the order was revised nearly five years after the

academic year came to an end I am of the opinion that the Government

ought to have heard the petitioner before passing Ext.P12 order. I

accordingly quash Ext.P12 and direct the Government to reconsider

Ext.P9 revision petition filed by the petitioner and pass orders thereon

after affording the petitioner a reasonable opportunity of being heard.

Final orders in the matter shall be passed within four months from the

date of receipt of a certified copy of this judgment. The petitioner shall

in order to enable the Secretary to Government to pass orders in the

WP(C)7607/09 -: 3 :-

matter, produce before the Secretary to Government, General Education

Department a copy of this Writ Petition along with a certified copy of this

judgment.

P.N.Ravindran,
Judge.

ess