IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE P.N.RAVINDRAN THURSDAY, THE 7TH AUGUST 2008 / 16TH SRAVANA 1930 WP(C).No. 21398 of 2008(V) -------------------------- PETITIONER: ------------ N.ROBIN SELVARAJ, UPPER DIVISION CLERK DIRECTORATE OF MINING AND GEOLOGY KESAVADASAPURAM, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM-4 BY ADV. SRI.K.RAMAKUMAR (SR.) SRI.T.RAMPRASAD UNNI SRI.M.H.HANIS RESPONDENTS: ------------- 1. SHRI.K.L.KRISHNAMOORTHY DIRECTOR OF MINING AND GEOLOGY THIRUVANANTHAPURAM 2. SRI.R.AJITH UD CLERK, DIRECTORATE OF MINING AND GEOLOGY KESAVADASAPURAM, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM -4 3. PRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT INDUSTRIES (A0 DEPARTMENT GOVERNMENT OF KERALA, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM 4. THE JOINT SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT INDUSTRIES (A) DEPARTMENT, GOVT. OF KERALA THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. BY GOVERNMENT PLEADER SMT. M.R. SREELATHA THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 07/08/2008, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: P.N.RAVINDRAN,J. ------------------------- W.P ( C) No. 21398 of 2008 -------------------------- Dated this the 7th August, 2008 J U D G M E N T The petitioner, a Law Graduate, is working as Upper Division Clerk in the Directorate of Mining and Geology. In view of his qualifications, he was in charge of M2 Section in the Directorate of Mining and Geology which was handling large number of writ petitions and other cases to which the Director of Mining and Geology Department was a party. By Exhibit-P2 order, while turning down the request of the Director of Mining and Geology Department for upgrading the post held by the petitioner as Legal Assistant, the Government directed that as the petitioner is a Law Graduate, he can be posted as an Upper Division Clerk in the Section/Wing looking after licensing. By Exhibit-P3 dated 15.5.2008, the Director of Mining and Geology re-arranged the work among the Section Clerks and posted the petitioner to T3 Section. The second respondent was posted in the M2 W.P ( C) No. 21398 of 2008 2 Section. Aggrieved by Exhibit-P3, petitioner filed WP(C) No.15640 of 2008. By Exhibit-P5 judgment delivered on 27.5.2008, this Court directed that if the petitioner files a representation before the Government within two weeks therefrom, the Government shall consider the same and pass orders thereon, within four weeks thereafter. As directed in Exhibit-P5, petitioner submitted Exhibit-P6 representation dated 9.6.2008 followed by Exhibit-P7 representation dated 28.6.2008. Exhibit -P8 order was thereafter passed on 7.7.2008. The request made by the petitioner to the State Government for posting him back in M2 Section in the Directorate of Mining and Geology Department was rejected. The relevant portion of Exhibit- P8 reads as follows: “While pronouncing the judgment in this case, the Hon. Court had specifically observed that the allocation of work among the subordinates is a matter which has to be decided by the Head of Office or Government. Government have examined the matter in detail after considering the report of the Director of Mining and Geology and have found that the claim of Sri.N.Robin Selvaraj, UDC to retain him in M2 Section in the Directorate of Mining and Geology does not W.P ( C) No. 21398 of 2008 3 deserve merit and hence declined.” 2. I have heard Sri.T.Ramaprasad Unni, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and Smt. M.R. Sreelatha, the learned Government Pleader appearing for the respondents. 3. The learned counsel for the petitioner contended that Exhibit-P8 is a cryptic order and that the Government had not adverted to Exhibit-P2 or the need to post the petitioner as U.D Clerk in M2 section when it passed Exhibit-P8 order declining his request. Per contra the learned Government Pleader appearing for the respondents submitted that re-arrangement of work in any office is a matter within the exclusive domain of the Head of the Department or the office and that no employee can claim a vested right to be posted in a particular section. The said proposition cannot in any way be faulted. All the same, any office or establishment handling a large number of cases in this Court and elsewhere must have a person conversant with the legal procedures in courts to effectively defend cases in which that office or W.P ( C) No. 21398 of 2008 4 establishment is invoked. This necessity was taken note of by the Government when it issued Exhibit-P2. However, in Exhibit-P8, the Government does not appear to have bestowed attention to this aspect. I therefore quash Exhibit-P8 and direct the State Government to consider whether having regard to the large number of litigations in which the Department of Mining and Geology is a party, it is desirable to have a person with a law degree in the M2 Section, if there is no impediment to post such a person in that section. The Government shall pass revised orders on Exhibits P6 and P7 representations after affording the petitioner an opportunity of being heard and taking note of the view expressed by the Government in Exhibit-P2. This shall be done within a period of one month from the date of receipt of a copy of this judgment. The Writ Petition is disposed of as above. No costs. (P.N.RAVINDRAN, JUDGE) ma W.P ( C) No. 21398 of 2008 5 W.P ( C) No. 21398 of 2008 6 W.P ( C) No. 21398 of 2008 7