KOCHI: A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Monday made it clear that those who are recommended by the Public Service Commission had priority over others in KSRTC reserve conductor appointments and empanelled staff cannot be made confirmed employees in such posts.
The court was allowing a writ appeal filed by PSC Advisees against the single bench order that had dismissed their plea.
On December 6, the division bench had passed an interim order directing the KSRTC to dispense with the services of empanelled conductors to accommodate PSC advisees.
The apex court had refused to interfere with this order. After that, the KSRTC terminated 3,872 empanelled bus conductors.
The division bench on Monday said that the KSRTC has been giving false hope to the empanelled conductors appointed provisionally by allowing them to cling on much to the prejudice of the PSC advisees.
"The appellants who are PSC advisees would not have been appointed by the KSRTC after relieving the empanelled conductors but for the interim orders aforestated.
"The decision in KPSC Reserve conductor Rank Holders' Association's case is binding on the KSRTC, and any deviation from there is impermissible. "The impugned judgement dismissing the writ petitions filed by the PSC advisees on the ground that substantive vacancies have not been established in the post is set aside," the final Division Bench order on Monday said.
"Neither can the empanelled conductors be regarded as probationers in the service of the KSRTC nor are they entitled to any preferential claim to future appointment in the same cadre," it observed.
"The mere fact that some of the orders of appointment do not specify the period as 180 days or as daily wages is immaterial when the persons have been sponsored by the Employment Exchange only.
Nor can the appointment be termed as falling under Rule 9A of Part II of KS and SSR in the absence of any express agreement between the KSRTC and the persons sponsored by the Employment Exchange."
