IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE K.T.SANKARAN WEDNESDAY, THE 8TH DECEMBER 2010 / 17TH AGRAHAYANA 1932 WP(C).No. 33909 of 2010(K) PETITIONER: --------------- SEYD JAHANGEER.C.K, AGED 46 YEARS, S/O. MUHAMMED MUSTAFA, LECTURER IN ELECTRICAL AND ELETRONICS ENGINEERING, GOVERNMENT ENGINEERING COLLEGE, THRISSUR, RESIDING AT CHEROOTH HOUSE, PULAMANTHOLE, MALAPPURAM. BY ADV. SRI.T.RAMPRASAD UNNI SRI.RAHUL VENUGOPAL RESPONDENTS: --------------- 1. STATE OF KERALA, REPRESENTED BY THE SECRETARY TO HIGHER EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, GOVERNMENT OF KERALA, THRIRUVANANTHAPURAM-695001. 2. THE DIRECTOR OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - 695 001. 3. THE PRINCIPAL, GOVERNMENT ENGINEERING COLLEGE, THRISSUR - 680 001. GOVERNMENT PLEADER SMT.NISHA BOSE THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 08/12/2010, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: K.T.SANKARAN, J. ------------------------------------------------------ W.P.(C). NO. 33909 OF 2010 K ------------------------------------------------------ Dated this the 8th day of December, 2010 JUDGMENT The petitioner while working as Lecturer in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Government Engineering College, Thrissur, availed leave without allowances for five years with effect from 5.12.1994 for going abroad. The leave was further extended on two successful terms of five years each, i.e., from 5.12.1999 to 4.12.2004 and from 5.12.2004 to 4.12.2009. The petitioner again applied for leave without allowances for a further period of five years. The application for granting leave from 5.12.2009 was not granted. However, the petitioner did not continue to work and he went abroad. Ext.P3 communication dated 10.6.2010 was issued by the Director of Technical Education to the Principal, requesting the Principal to direct the petitioner to rejoin duty within fifteen days, on failure of which, disciplinary action would be taken against him. The petitioner rejoined duty on 3.7.2010. Again he went abroad. The petitioner filed W.P.(C) No.25937 of 2010 complaining about non-consideration of his application for leave without allowances. That Writ Petition was disposed of as per Ext.P4 judgment dated 19.8.2010, directing the first respondent to consider the application on the merits. W.P.(C) NO.33909 OF 2010 :: 2 :: 2. Thereafter, the first respondent passed Ext.P5 order dated 8.10.2010 rejecting the application for leave without allowances for five years submitted by the petitioner. In Ext.P5 order, the first respondent held that the application deserves no merit as per the guidelines issued by the Government. The petitioner had already availed fifteen years' leave continuously and there was no justification for granting leave for a further period of five years. It was noticed in Ext.P5 that there is no valid PSC rank list in the branch of Lecturers in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and vacancies of Lecturers in Electrical and Electronics Engineering exist in the Department. The report submitted by the Director of Technical Education was duly taken note of by the first respondent. It was also noticed in Ext.P5 that the Director of Technical Education did not recommend sanctioning of the leave application. 3. The challenge against Ext.P5 is without merit. The petitioner has already enjoyed leave for fifteen years. He was working abroad all throughout. According to the first respondent, if the petitioner is allowed to continue to take leave for another five years, it would affect the functioning of the educational institution. The petitioner does not have a right to claim that he should be W.P.(C) NO.33909 OF 2010 :: 3 :: granted leave for a continuous period of twenty years. The Division Bench has recently deprecated the practice of granting leave without allowances for long terms. 4. For the aforesaid reasons, I do not find any ground to interfere with Ext.P5 order passed by the Government. The Writ Petition fails and it is dismissed. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner is prepared to re-join duty on the reopening date in January, 2011. It is submitted that there may be a direction to the Government to regularize the period of absence of the petitioner from 5.12.2009 till that date. Dismissal of this Writ Petition would not stand in the way of the petitioner applying for re-joining duty and applying to the appropriate authority for regularizing the period of absence and if such an application is made, it will be considered on the merits in accordance with law. (K.T.SANKARAN) Judge ahz/