Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2025 Supreme(Online)(Ker) 67084

IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
Anil K. Narendran, Muralee Krishna S., JJ
Abdul Saleem V.P. – Appellant
Versus
State Of Kerala – Respondent
OP(KAT) 290 OF 2025

Advocates:
For the Appellants/Petitioners: K.Mohanakannan, H.Praveen
For the Respondents: Unnikrishna Kaimal

The High Court's supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227 is limited to correcting manifest errors or patent perversity in lower tribunal orders. It cannot function as an appellate court, nor interfere with internal administrative decisions like staff fixation and deployments unless they violate fundamental legal principles or cause gross injustice.

Headnote:(A) Constitution of India - Article 227 - Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 - Section 19 - Supervisory jurisdiction of High Court - Scope and limitations - High Court cannot function as an appellate court - Power of superintendence is to be exercised only in cases of manifest error, patent perversity, or flagrant abuse of fundamental principles of law or justice - It cannot be used to correct every error made by a lower tribunal. (Paras 16-21, 27)

(B) Staff Fixation - Educational service - Reduction of posts due to shortage of students - Judicial intervention - Interim stay of transfers - Considerations for grant of interim relief - Where request for stay impacts the deployment of an employee, the court must balance the balance of convenience - The tribunal is justified in withholding interim relief when the case involves statutory compliance with staff fixation rules and the petitioner's rights are subject to the final outcome of the original application. (Paras 23-26, 30)

Facts of the case:
The petitioner, a language teacher, challenged a staff fixation order that reduced the number of posts for his subject, leading to his subsequent transfer. The petitioner approached the administrative tribunal seeking to quash the staff fixation and transfer orders. The tribunal, while admitting the original application, declined to grant an interim stay on the transfer and deployment, prompting the petitioner to invoke the supervisory jurisdiction of the High Court to challenge the tribunal's interim order.

Findings of Court:
The court held that it cannot sit in appeal over the findings of the administrative tribunal. The tribunal's decision to decline an interim stay, given the context of staff reduction and student-teacher ratio requirements, did not constitute a grave dereliction of duty or a violation of natural justice. The petitioner’s continued presence in the school pending the resolution of his representation was a matter of specific interim arrangements that did not entitle him to a blanket stay of deployment.

Issues: Whether the High Court, under Article 227, should interfere with an interim order of an Administrative Tribunal that declines to stay a staff transfer resulting from a staff fixation order, and whether the scope of such supervisory jurisdiction encompasses wider service disputes not strictly before the tribunal in the original application.

Ratio Decidendi: Supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227 is limited to rectifying patent perversion or gross injustice and does not permit the court to re-adjudicate merits as an appellate authority. A tribunal's refusal to grant an interim stay in matters of staff deployment involving statutory fixation of posts is a discretionary exercise that does not warrant interference unless manifestly unreasonable or contrary to basic principles of law.

Result: Original petition dismissed; interim orders vacated; tribunal directed to dispose of the matter on merits.

Table of Content
1. factual history regarding staff fixation, transfer, and previous litigation. (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 23 , 24 , 25)
2. high court's limited supervisory jurisdiction under article 227. (Para 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 26 , 27)
3. scope of original petition limited; tribunal to decide main case. (Para 28 , 29 , 30)

JUDGMENT

Anil K. Narendran, J.

The petitioner, who is a Full Time Language Teacher (Arabic) L.P. Section, filed O.A.(EKM)No.922 of 2025 before the Kerala Administrative Tribunal, Additional Bench, Ernakulam, invoking the provisions under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, seeking an order to quash Annexure A1 staff fixation order dated 18.07.2024 of the 4^th respondent Assistant Educational Officer, Mannarkkad, for the academic year 2024-25, to the extent it reduces one post of Full Time Language Teacher (Arabic) in the L.P. Section of Government Muslim U.P. School, Mannarkkad; Annexure A7 transfer order dated 07.10.2024 issued by the 3^rd respondent Deputy Director of Education, Palakkad of Language/Specialist Teachers, due to reduction of posts in the staff fixation order for the academic year 2024-25; Annexure A10 order dated 14.01.2025 of the Joint Director of General Education (Academics) in the petition filed by the petitioner; and Annexure A14 order dated 13.06.2025 issued by the 1^st respondent State rejecting Annexure A11 representation dated 16.01.2025 made by the petitioner.

2. On 27.06.2025, when the original application came up for admission, the Tribunal admitted the matter on file. The learned Government Pleader took notice for the respondents. In the original application, the petitioner sought for an interim stay of his transfer and deployment pursuant to Annexures A1, A7, A10 and A14. The Tribunal, without granting an interim stay as sought for, directed the respondents to file a statement and listed the matter after one month.

3. Challenging Ext.P4 order dated 27.06.2025 of the Tribunal in O.A.(EKM)No.922 of 2025, the petitioner-applicant is before this Court in this original petition, invoking the supervisory jurisdiction of this Court under Article 227 of the Constitution of India.

4. On 02.07.20257, when this original petition came up for admission, the learned Government Pleader was directed to get instructions and file a report along with a memo. In the said order, it was made clear that if the petitioner is relieved, it will be subject to further orders of this Court. If there exists a post, necessarily, the petitioner will have to be reverted to the present school.

5. Along with I.A.No.2 of 2025, the petitioner has placed on record Ext.P5 staff fixation order dated 18.07.2025 of the 4^th respondent Assistant Educational Officer, in Government Muslim U.P. School, Mannarkkad, for the academic year 2025-26. On 28.07.2025, when this original petition came up for consideration, the Division Bench passed the following order:

“Based on the staff fixation order, the Assistant Educational Officer (AEO) shall consider whether the petitioner can be retained at Government Muslim UP School, Mannarkkad or not. Appropriate orders shall be passed by the Assistant Educational Officer (AEO) within a period of ten days.”

6. Heard arguments of the learned counsel for the petitioner-applicant and the learned Counsel for the respondents-respondents.

7. The learned counsel for the petitioner-applicant would submit that the 4^th respondent Assistant Educational Officer is yet to pass orders, in terms of the direction contained in the order of this Court dated 28.07.2025.

8. The petitioner-applicant is before this Court in this original petition, invoking the supervisory jurisdiction of this Court under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, challenging Ext.P4 order dated 27.06.2025 of the Kerala Administrative Tribunal in O.A.(EKM)No.922 of 2025. The said original application is one filed by the petitioner, invoking the provisions under Sec

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2025 Supreme(Online)(Ker) 67084

IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAMAnil K. Narendran, Muralee Krishna S., JJAbdul Saleem V.P. – AppellantVersusState Of Kerala – RespondentOP(KAT) 290 OF 2025

Cases Referred (4)

IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
Anil K. Narendran, Muralee Krishna S., JJ
Abdul Saleem V.P. – Appellant
Versus
State Of Kerala – Respondent
OP(KAT) 290 OF 2025