These writ petitions come up before me for deciding the question as to whether these writ petitions should be entertained by this Court or should the petitioners be relegated to the jurisdiction of the Kerala Administrative Tribunal. In the first writ petition, the petitioners are HR/CLR workers under the Department of Irrigation of the Government of Kerala. In the other writ petition, the petitioners are part time sweepers in the Department of Sports and Youth affairs and the Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs. The Registry noted a defect that the petitioners being employees of the Government of Kerala working under departments of the State Government, the jurisdiction lies with the Kerala Administrative Tribunal under Section 15 of the Administrative Tribunals Act. The learned counsel for the petitioners contend that they are not regular employees in the State or Subordinate service of the Government of Kerala and, therefore, the jurisdiction vests with this Court. According to them, under Section 15(1)(b) of the Administrative Tribunals Act, only service matters of parsons appointed to any civil service of the State or any civil post under the State can be entertained by the Administrative Tribunal. They submit that the word, "Services" is defined in the Kerala Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1960, as a group of persons classified by the State Government as a State or Subordinate Service, as the case may be. Going by that definition, insofar as the petitioners are not classified by the State Government as State or subordinate service members, the Tribunal does not have jurisdiction and jurisdiction rests with this Court. They also rely on the decision of the Supreme Court in Phool Badan Tiwari v. Union of India, (2003) 9 SCC 304.

2. I have heard the learned Government Pleader also on the question as to whether this Court should entertain these writ petitions or the petitioners should be relegated to the Administrative Tribunal. According to the learned Government Pleader, the jurisdiction vests with the Kerala Administrative Tribunal in view of the definition of "service matters' in the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985. The matter has to be considered in the light of Section 15 (1) of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985. The same reads thus:

"15. Jurisdiction, powers and authority of State Administrative Tribunals -(1) Save as otherwise expressly provided in this Act , the Administrative Tribunal for a State shall exercise, on and from the appointed day, all the jurisdiction, powers and authority exercisable immediately before that day by all courts (except the Supreme Court) in relation to -

(a) recruitment, and matters concerning recruitment, to any civil service of the State or to any civil post under the State;

(b) all service matters concerning a person not being a person referred to in clause (c) of this sub-section or a member, person or civilian referred to in clause (b) of subsection (1) of section 14 appointed to any civil service of the State or any civil post under the State and pertaining to the service of such person in connection with the affairs of the State or of any local or other authority under the control of the State Government or of any corporation or society owned or controlled by the State Government;

(c) all service matters pertaining to service in connection with the affairs of the State concerning a person appointed to any service or post referred to in clause (b), being a person whose services have been placed by any such local or other authority or corporation or society or other body as is controlled or owned by the State Government, at the disposal of the State Government for such appointment."

According to me, the said Section is couched in very wide terms, which would rope in all the employees of the State Government/local authority/corporation/society etc. and the employees of the authorities notified by the Government under sub section (2