Kerala High Court
State Of Kerala vs Sunny Joseph on 13 January, 2025
Author: A.Muhamed Mustaque
Bench: A.Muhamed Mustaque
OP(KAT)No.442/2022
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A.MUHAMED MUSTAQUE
&
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE P. KRISHNA KUMAR
MONDAY, THE 13TH DAY OF JANUARY 2025 / 23RD POUSHA, 1946
OP(KAT) NO. 442 OF 2022
AGAINST THE ORDER DATED 25.02.2022 IN OA NO.1769 OF 2018 OF
KERALA ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
PETITIONER/RESPONDENT IN O.A.:
STATE OF KERALA
REPRESENTED BY THE PRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT
HIGHER EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM KERALA
PIN: 695001., PIN - 695001
BY SR. GOVERNMENT PLEADER SMT.NISHA BOSE
RESPONDENTS/APPLICANTS IN O.A.:
1 SUNNY JOSEPH
AGED 56 YEARS
S/O.K.P.JOSEPH UGC LIBRARIAN(RTD)
RESIDING AT KUDAKKACHIRA 'OXYGEN GARDENS' BLOCK-C,
PURANATTUKARA.P.O THRISSUR, KERALA .
PIN: 680 551.
2 HUMAYOON KABEER.P
AGED 57 YEARS S/O. ABDULLA PALLIYALI
UGC LIBRARIAN(RTD) RESIDING AT 'PALLIYALI'
MAPPADAM.P.O, MAMPAD, MALAPPURAM
KERALA, PIN - 676542
BY ADVS.
BENNY GERVACIS
ABI BENNY AREECKAL(K/001482/2019)
BEA MARY BENNY(K/000129/2021)
THIS OP KERALA ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL HAVING COME UP FOR
ADMISSION ON 12/12/2024, THE COURT ON 13/01/2025 DELIVERED THE
FOLLOWING:
OP(KAT)No.442/2022
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JUDGMENT
P.Krishna Kumar, J.
The respondents who were working as Librarian Grade I in the Common Pool Librarians under the Higher Education Department passed the National Eligibility Test (NET) conducted by the University Grants Commission (UGC) on 18.09.2012 and 25.03.2013, respectively and thereby became eligible for promotion to the UGC Scheme. As per Annexure A3 order, the respondents were posted as UGC Librarians in the UGC Scheme by stipulating that till their pay is fixed in the UGC Scheme, they will be eligible only for their existing pay in the State scale.
2. The respondents submitted a representation to the Government claiming that as per Annexure A8 Government order, the scale of pay granted to the College Librarians is also accepted for UGC Librarians under the Common Pool, and the UGC Librarians will be given further placement after eight or sixteen years, taking into account their OP(KAT)No.442/2022 3 2025:KER:1629 service starting with Librarian Grade I under the Common Pool and thus the respondents are also entitled to three placements (Librarian Senior Scale, Librarian Selection Grade and Librarian Special Scale) under UGC scale as they have completed more than eighteen years service. The respondents also contended that as per Annexure A10 Government order, a person promoted to the UGC scale would get the protection of pay if the UGC pay is lower than the existing pay.
3. On 2.7.2018, the Government issued Annexure A15 order stating that even though the respondents were working as Librarians Grade I from the year 2000, they acquired UGC qualification only after 12/13 years, and thus they could claim UGC scale only after they qualified NET. It is further stated, as per Annexure A8 Government order dated 19.1.2006, only UGC qualified Grade I Librarians can be selected to the post of UGC Librarian. It is also observed in Annexure A15 that though the Government had taken a lenient view in the case of certain Librarians, it was done in the early days by considering the OP(KAT)No.442/2022 4 2025:KER:1629 preliminary stage of the UGC Scheme in the stream of Librarians. It was also observed that the Accountant General fixed the pay of the applicants as directed by the Government.
4. The respondents approached the Kerala Administrative Tribunal to set aside Annexure A15 order and for pay fixation reckoning their prior service from 2000 onwards as Librarian Grade I. Their contentions were mainly based on Annexure A8 Government Order and the two precedents as evidenced by Annexures A11 and A18 wherein the Government had given similar benefits to two Librarians.
5. The Tribunal accepted the claim of the respondents and directed the Government to place them in the Senior Scale and Selection Scale, reckoning their service as Common Pool Librarian Grade I, as has been granted in Annexure A11 and A18 orders, and further directed to release the arrears of pay within two months.
6. In this original petition, the Government challenges the decision of the Kerala Administrative Tribunal mainly on the following grounds: OP(KAT)No.442/2022 5
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(i) Annexure A8 Government Order specifically provides that UGC Librarians will be given further placement after eight or sixteen years subject to the conditions stipulated for such placement in the UGC Scheme as mentioned in paragraph 6 of G.O.(Ms)No.87/91/HEdn. dated 9.4.1991, but the Tribunal omitted to note this.
(ii) NET qualification is a basic qualification for placing the incumbents in UGC Librarian status as per clause 4.5.3 of the UGC Regulations, 2010 and thus when the respondents got qualified only on 18.09.2012 and 25.03.2013 respectively, they could not be given senior scale placements in UGC Librarian post from an earlier date.
(iii) As per Annexure A8, only the Librarians Grade I who are qualified as per UGC Scheme can be selected to the post of UGC Librarians, but the respondents acquired UGC qualification only after 12/13 years and hence the benefits cannot be given from a previous period. OP(KAT)No.442/2022 6
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(iv) The relaxation in qualification granted by the Government to certain Librarians as per Annexure A11 and A18 cannot be extended to the respondents as the said relaxation was granted in early days of implementation of UGC scheme on considering the preliminary stage of the scheme and as a special case for uplifting the quality of the Librarians attached to the academic institutions.
7. Heard the learned Senior Government Pleader and the learned counsel appearing for the respondents.
8. The learned Senior Government Pleader assailed the findings of the Tribunal by referring to the decision in HAV (OFC) RWMWI Borgoyary and Others v. Union of India and Others (2019 KHC 7217), wherein it was observed that if the authorities had given some benefits to ineligible persons by mistake and contrary to law, a claim cannot be made by other ineligible persons. The learned Government Pleader further placed reliance on the decisions in Radhakrishnan Pillai D. (Dr.) v. Travancore Devaswom OP(KAT)No.442/2022 7 2025:KER:1629 Board and Others (2016 (2) KHC 119) and Tinku v. State of Haryana (2024 KHC OnLine 6629) to buttress the contentions of the state.
9. The reason for accepting the claim of the respondents is evident from paragraphs 7 and 8 of the impugned order of the Tribunal, which read as follows:
"7. Though the respondents have filed a reply statement, no justifiable reasons are stated as to why this benefit is denied to the applicants. It has been stated in the reply statement that the applicants obtained NET qualification after 12 years of service of Librarian Grade I. But Annexure A8 does not provide any such restrictions regarding the grant of placement in UGC scale. Referring to Annexure A11 order, the learned counsel for the applicants points out that the incumbent therein, Sri.Raveendran obtained UGC qualification after rendering 15 years of service as Common Pool Librarian Grade I. But in his case, senior scale and selection scale under the UGC scale was sanctioned without any objections. In such circumstances, the objections raised against the grant of proper placement to the applicants saying that there has been delay in acquiring the NET qualification is absolutely discriminatory and illegal.
8. The refusal of the respondents to accept the claim of the applicants for proper placement in the UGC scale on the basis of Annexure A8 Government OP(KAT)No.442/2022 8 2025:KER:1629 Order cannot be sustained and Annexure A15 order is therefore set aside."
(emphasis added)
10. From the above, it is evident that the Tribunal arrived at the said finding for two reasons, viz., Annexure A8 does not provide any restrictions regarding grant of placement in UGC scale even if NET qualification is obtained belatedly; and one Sri.Raveendran, who obtained UGC qualification after rendering 15 years of service, was given senior scale and selection scale. However, it is specifically provided in Annexure A8 that further placement after eight or sixteen years will be given only to UGC Librarians and that will be subject to the conditions stipulated for such placement in the UGC scheme. Thus the first observation of the Tribunal is apparently incorrect. As per Annexure A8, the respondents cannot claim the said benefit for a period during which they did not acquire the essential qualification.
11. Further, in Annexure A15, the Government has specifically explained that relaxation given in the OP(KAT)No.442/2022 9 2025:KER:1629 matter of qualification to the Librarians at the early stage of implementation of the UGC scheme cannot be extended to the respondents. Merely for the reason that the Government had given exemption to one or two Librarians in yesteryears, the Tribunal is not justified in directing the Government to extend the said benefits to the respondents for a period during which they did not possess the required qualification. The consideration of the Government while granting exemption to those persons may be different from the circumstances of the respondents. The Tribunal did not also notice the reason given by the Government for not extending similar benefits to the respondents. In the said circumstance, the impugned order is liable to be set aside.
12. However, the respondents contended that as per Annexure A10, Librarians Grade I who are placed in the UGC Scheme would be given pay protection if they get a lesser pay compared to the non-UGC candidates, but many of their juniors were given promotions in the normal cadre and they were getting OP(KAT)No.442/2022 10 2025:KER:1629 higher pay. If such a situation prevails even now, the Government is bound to address that issue at the earliest.
The Original Petition is allowed and the impugned order is set aside.
Sd/-
A.MUHAMED MUSTAQUE JUDGE Sd/-
P.KRISHNA KUMAR JUDGE sv OP(KAT)No.442/2022 11 2025:KER:1629 APPENDIX OF OP(KAT) 442/2022 PETITIONER'S ANNEXURES Annexure A1 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER PASSED BY THE HONOURABLE TRIBUNAL IN O.A (EKM) NO.278/2014 DATED 07.07.2014.
Annexure A2 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER NO.22607/A3/2014/H.EDN DATED 26.09.2014 ISSUED BY OFFICE OF THE PETITIONER. Annexure A3 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER G.O(RT) NO.2812/14/H.EDN DATED 26.11.2014 ISSUED BY THE OFFICE OF THE PETITIONER.
Annexure A4 TRUE COPY OF THE REPRESENTATION MADE BY THE FIRST RESPONDENT TO THE ADDITIONAL CHIEF SECRETARY, HIGHER EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM DATED 24.12.2014.
Annexure A5 TRUE COPY OF THE REPRESENTATION MADE BY THE 2 ND RESPONDENT TO THE ADDITIONAL CHIEF SECRETARY, HIGHER EDUCATION DEPARTMENT DATED 30.12.2014.
Annexure A6 TRUE COPY OF THE LETTER NO.1553/A3/15/H.EDN DATED 27.04.2015 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM.
Annexure A7 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER PASSED WITH NO.A3/24/16/H.EDN DATED 20.07.2016 ISSUED BY THE PETITIONER TO THE SECOND RESPONDENT.
Annexure A8 TRUE COPY OF THE G.O(MS) NO.14/2006/H.EDN DATED 19.01.2006 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. Annexure A9 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER PASSED BY THE PETITIONER IN G.O(P) NO.58/2010/H.EDN DATED27.03.2010 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. OP(KAT)No.442/2022 12
2025:KER:1629 Annexure A10 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER G.O(MS) NO.130/2000/H.EDN DATED 11.08.2000 ISSUED BY THE PETITIONER.
Annexure A11 TRUE COPY OF THE G.O(RT) NO.392/2012/H.EDN DATED 27.02.2012. Annexure A12 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER G.O(MS) NO.85/2014/H.EDN DATED 21.02.2014 AND ITS TYPED COPY Annexure A13 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER G.O(MS) NO.684/2015/H.EDN DATED 15.12.2015. Annexure A14 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER PASSED BY THE TRIBUNAL IN O.A NO.2250/2017 DATED 03.04.2018.
Annexure A15 TRUE COPY OF THE G.O(RT) NO.1309/2018/H.EDN DATED 02.07.2018. Annexure A16 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER PASSED BY THE HONOURABLE TRIBUNAL IN O.A NO.2250/2017 DATED 16.08.2018.
Annexure A17 THE TRUE COPY OF THE OPTION TO UGC SCHEME DATED 04/10/2014 MADE BY THE 1ST APPLICANT Annexure A18 TRUE COPY OF THE G.O(RT) NO.2187/2011/HEDN DATED 29.12.2011 ISSUED BY THE PETITIONER.
Annexure A18(a) TRUE COPY OF THE G.O(RT) NO.1005/2014/H.EDN DATED 26.05.2014 ISSUED BY THE PETITIONER.
Annexure A19 TRUE COPY OF THE FINALISED SENIORITY LIST PERTAINING TO LIBRARIAN GRADE I COMMON POOL LIBRARY SERVICE WITH G.O(P) NO.396/2010/HEDN DATED 17.12.2010. Annexure A20 TRUE COPY OF THE SALARY SLIPS PERTAINING TO WELS.P.J, SENIOR GRADE LIBRARIAN, GOVERNMENT MEDICAL COLLEGE, THRISSUR. Annexure A20(a) TRUE COPY OF SALARY SLIP PERTAINING TO UNNIKRISHNAN.G, SENIOR GRADE LIBRARIAN, OP(KAT)No.442/2022 13 2025:KER:1629 TD MEDICAL COLLEGE, VANDANAM, AMBALAPPUZHA.
Annexure A20(b) TRUE COPY OF SALARY SLIP PERTAINING TO SUNNY JOSEPH, 1 ST RESPONDENT LIBRARIAN (UGC REVISED) GOVERNMENT COLLEGE, KASARGOD.
Annexure A20(c) TRUE COPY OF THE SALARY SLIP PERTAINING TO HUMAYOON KABIR (RETIRED) 2 ND RESPONDENT LIBRARIAN (UGC REVISED) GOVERNMENT BRENNEN COLLEGE, THALASSERY. Exhibit P1 A TRUE COPY OF THE O.A NO.1769/2018 ALONG WITH ITS ANNEXURES A1 TO A16.
Exhibit P2 TRUE COPY OF THE REPLY STATEMENT FILED BY THE PETITIONER ON 06.03.2019.
Exhibit P3 TRUE COPY OF THE REJOINDER FILED BY THE RESPONDENTS ON 27.06.2019.
Exhibit P4 TRUE COPY OF THE ADDITIONAL REPLY STATEMENT OF THE PETITIONER ON 20.10.2020.
Exhibit P5 TRUE COPY OF THE REJOINDER FILED BY THE RESPONDENTS ON 16.10.2021 ALONG WITH ANNEXURES A17 TO A20 (C).
Exhibit P6 TRUE COPY OF THE IMPUGNED ORDER PASSED BY THE KERALA ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL DATED 25.02.2022.IN O.A.NO.1769/2018