IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE C.N.RAMACHANDRAN NAIR & THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE V.K.MOHANAN TUESDAY, THE 29TH JULY 2008 / 7TH SRAVANA 1930 WP(C).No. 10172 of 2006(J) -------------------------- PETITIONER: ------------ R. RAJENDRAN PILLAI, STORE KEEPER (KARANMA KALAVARA), P.D. MANNADI DEVASWOM, KOTTARAKKRA GROUP. BY ADV. SMT.I.SHEELA DEVI RESPONDENTS: ------------- 1. TRAVANCORE DEVASWOM BOARD, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY. 2. COMMISSIONER, TRAVANCORE DEVASWOM BOARD, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. 3. ASSISTANT DEVASWOM COMMISSIONER KOTTARAKKARA. BY ADV. SRI.D.SREEKUMAR, SC, TDB THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 29/07/2008, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: WPC NO.10172/2006 APPENDIX PETITIONER'S EXHIBITS P1: COPY OF THE RELEVANT EXTRACT OF THE P.D.MANUAL. P2 : COPY OF THE COMMON ORDER DATED 26/08/1987 BY EQUATING THE PAY AND ALLOWANCES TO THE KARANMA KALAVARAS TO OTHER EMPLOYEES OF THE BOARD. P3 : COPY OF THE ORDER SANCTIONING THE PAY TO THE PETITIONER DATED 23/03/2005 BY R3. P4 : COPY OF ORDER REJECTING ALLOWANCES AND OTHER EMOLUMENTS TO THE PETITIONER DATED 14/06/2005. P5 : COPY OF REPRESENTATION DATED 08/08/2005 TO R2. P6 : COPY OF REPRESENTATION DATED 06/12/2005 TO R2. P7: COPY OF STANDARD STAFF PATTERN ISSUED BY R1 DATED 18/12/1999. //TRUE COPY// PA TO JUDGE. jg C.N.RAMACHANDRAN NAIR & V.K.MOHANAN, JJ. ------------------------- WP(C) No.10172 of 2006 --------------------------------- Dated, this the 29th day of July, 2008 J U D G M E N T Ramachandran Nair, J. Heard learned counsel for petitioner and Shri.D.Sreekumar appearing for the Travancore Devaswom Board. 2. Petitioner is a karanma kalavara in the Mannadi Temple and the prayer is for paying equal amount of salary as that of regular employees of the Devaswom Board. We have held in another case that karanma employees cannot be treated as equal with the regular Devaswom Board employees because karanma employees belong to a different class. Therefore, we are unable to uphold petitioner's claim that petitioner is entitled to equal benefits along with regular Devaswom Board employees. However, learned Standing Counsel for the Devaswom Board submitted that there is substantial increase in the wages of karanma employees and petitioner is a beneficiary of the same. The increase appears to have been effected after filing of this writ petition. Therefore, petitioner cannot have any WP(C) No.10172/2006 -2- grievance as of now on account of increase in wages already granted. The writ petition is, accordingly, closed. (C.N.RAMACHANDRAN NAIR, JUDGE) (V.K.MOHANAN, JUDGE) jg