The judgment establishes that an employee of the Kerala Water Authority, despite certain provisions preserving the conditions of service applicable to Government employees, does not qualify as a Government employee entitled to reserved seats for admission to professional courses.

1. The petitioner is a candidate for admission to the part-time LL.B. (evening course) in the Government Law College, Calicut. 30% of the total number of seats are reserved for the State Government employees. It is the petitioner's case that he is a State Government employee, that he is entitled to one of the 30% seats so reserved and that he has obtained more marks than those persons who are included in that category and he has been wrongly denied admission to the LL.B. (evening course). The question for consideration is whether the petitioner is a Government employee entitled to claim one of the reserved seats for admission to the first year LL.B. in the Government Law College (evening), Calicut.

2. The petitioner was initially appointed in the Public Health Engineering Department of the Government of Kerala. Subsequently he was transferred to the Kerala Water Authority constituted under the Kerala Water Supply and Sewerage Act, 1986, Act 14 of 1986. The contention of the petitioner is that notwithstanding the fact that he is now an employee of the Water Authority constituted under the Act, he continues to be an employee of the Government and he is entitled to one of there served seats. There can be no doubt that the petitioner is not a Government employee as long as he is an employee of the Kerala Water Authority, a corporation constituted under the Act, and after he has been transferred from the Government service to the service of the Corporation. This matter is settled by the decision of the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in Sukhdev Singh v. Bhagatram, A.I.R. 1975 S.C.1331 where it has been held thus in Para.67:

"For the foregoing reasons, we hold that rules and regulations framed by the Oil and Natural Gas Commission, Life Insurance Corporation and the Industrial Finance Corporation have the force of law. The employees of these statutory bodies have a statutory status and they are entitled to declaration of being in employment when their dismissal or removal is in contravention of statutory provisions. By way of abundant caution we state that these employees are not servants of the Union or the State."

3. The Water Authority is a State within the meaning of Art.12 of the Constitution amenable to the writ jurisdiction of this Court under Art.226of the Constitution of India for enforcement of fundamental rights. But its employees cannot be deemed or treated as government employees.

4. However, contends counsel for the petitioner, in view of the provisions of the Kerala Water Supply and Sewerage Act, 1986 the petitioner and the employees of the Kerala Water Authority continue to be the employees of the State Government. He also relies on certain provisions contained in the Kerala Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1960 in support.

5. It is under S.3 of the Act that the Government have constituted "an autonomous authority to be called the Kerala Water Authority". The Authority is a body corporate having perpetual succession and a common seal. The Authority is for all purposes deemed to be a local authority. Under S.8 of the Act the Authority may, with the previous approval of the Government, appoint on deputation a servant of the Central Government or the State Government as an employee of the Authority on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit. The appointment and conditions of service of the officers and employees of the Authority shall be governed by rules made by the Government from time to time. This is mentioned in S.8(3) of the Act. S.19 provides for transfer of Government employees to the Authority. It says that every person who was employed in the Public Health Engineering Department of the Government shall, on and from the appointed day, become an employee of the Authority and shall hold his office or service therein by the same tenure, at the same remuneration and upon the same terms and conditions, and with the same rights and privileges as to pension, gratuity and oth