Article 227 supervisory jurisdiction limits High Court interference with tribunal orders absent perversity or manifest injustice.

JUDGMENT :
Muralee Krishna S., J.

The applicant in O.A.No.1036 of 2025 on the file of the Kerala Administrative Tribunal, Thiruvananthapuram (‘the Tribunal’ for short), filed this original petition, invoking the supervisory jurisdiction of this Court under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, challenging Ext.P1 order dated 20.02.2026 passed by the Tribunal in that original application.

2. Going by the averments in the original application, the petitioners are presently working as Agricultural Officers in the Agriculture Development and Farmers Welfare Department. They joined service as Agricultural Assistant Grade II on 24.02.2007 and 05.03.2007 respectively, and they possess B.Sc degree in Agriculture. The next higher post available to an Agricultural Assistant is appointment by transfer as Agricultural Officer, for which ratio between direct recruitment and by transfer was 85:15. In the year 2008, Annexure A1 Government Order was issued ordering to set apart 2% of the posts of Agricultural Officers in the 15% quota earmarked for promotion from qualified Agricultural Assistants to those Agricultural Assistants having B.Sc degree in Agriculture with 3 years service. Later, the Government issued Annexure A2 Order allowing Graduate Agricultural Assistants to be appointed in the 13% (15%-2%) quota also, in order to solve the crucial administrative difficulties faced by the Department due to scarcity of Agricultural Officers. As a result, the petitioners were appointed provisionally as Agricultural Officers in the year 2012. As per Annexure A6 order, the incumbents who were appointed along with the petitioners were regularised with effect from the dates on which they joined duty as Agricultural Officers. However, Annexure A8 order has been issued regularising the petitioners in the cadre of Agricultural Officer only with effect from 06.10.2023 and 30.11.2024, which is arbitrary and discriminatory. In such circumstances, Annexure A8, to the extent it regularises the petitioners as Agricultural Officers with effect from 06.10.2023 and 30.11.2024, is liable to be interfered with. With these pleadings, the petitioners filed the original application before the Tribunal, invoking the provisions under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, seeking the following reliefs:

“i. To call for the records leading to Annexure A8 and quash the same to the extent it regularizes the applicants as Agricultural Officers only with effect from 06.10.2023 and 30.11.2024 respectively.

ii. To direct the respondents to regularize the service of the applicants in the cadre of Agricultural Officers with effect from 04.08.2012 and 19.09.2012 respectively in the light of Annexure A6 order.

iii. To declare that the applicants are entitled to be regularized in the cadre of Agricultural Officers with effect from 04.08.2012 and 19.09.2012 respectively.”

3. In the original application, on behalf of the 2^nd respondent, a reply statement dated 06.10.2025 was filed opposing the reliefs sought for. To that reply statement, the petitioners filed a rejoinder dated 22.10.2025. Similarly, on behalf of the 1^st respondent, a reply statement dated 05.11.2025 was filed in the original application.

4. After hearing both sides and on appreciation of materials on record, the Tribunal by the impugned Ext.P1 order, dismissed the original application. Paragraphs 6 and the last paragraph of that order read thus:

“6. At the time of joining service as Agricultural Assistants, the applicants were Graduates in Agriculture. They are eligible for promotion to the cadre of Agricultural Assistants against the 2% quota earmarked for them vide Annexure- A1 order. It was to fac