JUDGMENT

Dated this the 29th day of April, 2022 The petitioner was appointed as Operator on contract basis in the Kerala Electronics Development Corporation Ltd. (KELTRON) on 15.01.2007. His contract of appointment was renewed from time to time. As their contractual employment was continuing for more than 10 years, the petitioner and similarly placed contract employees sought regularisation. Their representations having failed to evoke any positive response, the contractual employees conducted a protest in front of the first respondent's office on 19.05.2018. During the course of the protest, the petitioner gave a public speech, which respondents 2 and 3 found to be derogatory. Therefore, the petitioner was suspended from service as per Ext.P7 Office Memorandum dated 19.04.2018. Later, by Ext.P9 dated 17.05.2018, the petitioner's contract of service with the KELTRON was terminated with immediate effect. Much later, by Ext.P12 Government Order dated 03.01.2021, the service of 296 contractual staff in the KELTRON and its subsidiary companies was regularised. The petitioner alleges that he was singled out for termination from among the contractual staff and discriminated against in th