The main legal principle established is that the appointment method and eligibility criteria as per the existing rules at the time of notification should be adhered to, and vacancies should be filled in accordance with the rules in force at the time of vacancy.

JUDGMENT :

1. The petitioners in W.P. (C) No. 30646/2023 and W.P. (C) No. 30215/2013 are working as “Operators” in the Kerala Water Authority (KWA). They are aspirants for the post of Assistant Engineer in the Kerala Water Authority under the in-service/departmental quota. Their grievance in these writ petitions is that they have been denied an opportunity to participate in the selection process for the post of Assistant Engineer, which has been notified as Category No. 138/2022 by the Kerala Public Service Commission (KPSC) on the ground that as on the date of notification, the persons like petitioners were not eligible to apply for the said post under the in-service/departmental quota in terms of the Kerala Public Health Engineering Subordinate Service Special Rules, 1966 (PHESS Rules, 1966).

2. W.P. (C) No. 34313/2023 has been filed by the petitioners who have been working as Draftsman Grade-II in the KWA. They contend that they possess the qualification of degree in Engineering and are fully qualified to be considered for appointment to the post of Assistant Engineer in the 10% quota year marked for Direct Recruitment to the in-service candidates. The petitioners have approached this Court challenging Exhibit P9 order passed by the Government by which the Government has decided to consider the petitioners in W.P. (C) No. 30646/2023, who have already participated in the common test in General Category (Category No. 137/2022), for by-transfer category (Category No. 138/2022) recruitment as well. According to the petitioners, by issuing Exhibit P9 Government Order, the Government has indirectly implemented Exhibit P5 Special Rules with retrospective effect from the date of issuance of Exhibit P3 notification.

3. As common issues are involved, all these repetitions are taken up and disposed of by a common judgment. Parties and exhibits shall be as described in W.P. (C) No. 30646 of 2023.

4. Before delving in detail into the rival contentions, the bare minimum facts which led to the notification and the consequential orders issued by this Court which ultimately led to the passing of Exhibit P9 order need be briefly stated.

5. The conditions of service of employees in the KWA are governed by the Kerala Public Health Engineering Subordinate Service Special Rules, 1966 (PHESS Rules, 1966) and the Kerala Public Health Engineering Service Special Rules, 1960 (PHES Rules, 1960).

5.1. The PHESS Rules, 1966 was issued on 01.11.1966, and it provides that the service shall consist of about 43 categories of officers. The relevant categories for the purpose of this case are as under:

5.2. Rule 2 deals with the appointment to the various categories. The relevant portion reads thus:

The provision says that the appointment shall be through Direct Recruitment and Promotion from category 4 and it shall be in a ratio of 6:4.

5.3. The Note (vii) to Rule 2 details the manner of making the appointment. The said Rule reads thus:

Note: (vii) Subject to the provisions in item (i) in making appointment to the category by direct recruitment, appointment to 54% of the post shall be made by direct recruitment of candidates from the open market and 6% by direct recruitment from among Draftsman/Water Works Inspector/Drainage Inspector/Ove