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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT:
THE HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR.MOHAN M.SHANTANAGOUDAR
&
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATHISH NINAN
FRIDAY, THE 14TH DAY OF OCTOBER 2016/22ND ASWINA, 1938
WP(C).NO. 31648 OF 2009 (S)
----------------------------
PETITIONER(S):
--------------
E.RASHEEDU, AGED 56, S/O.LATE M.IBRAHIM,
RTD.SENIOR SUPERINTENDENT
KERALA STATE POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
NASEEMA MANZIL (MOIDU COTTAGE), KADAMAKUZHY P.O
KATTAPPANA, IDUKKI.
BY ADVS.SRI.P.K.IBRAHIM
SRI.C.N.GOPAKUMAR
RESPONDENT(S):
--------------
1. STATE OF KERALA, REPRESENTED BY THE
SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT
GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM.
2. S.D.JEYAPRASAD, THE CHAIRMAN,
KERALA STATE POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
PLAMOOD JUNCTION, PATTOM P.O., THIRUVANANTHAPURAM.
3. A.M.SHEELA, ASSISTANT ENVIRONMENTAL
ENGINEER, KERALA STATE POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
PLAMOOD JUNCTION, PATTOM P.O., THIRUVANANTHAPURAM.
R,R1 BY SENIOR GOVERNMENT PLEADER SHRI M.A. ASIF
R,R3 BY ADV. SRI.N.KRISHNA PRASAD
R,R3 BY ADV. SRI.A.MOHAMMED FAIZAL
R,R3 BY ADV. SRI.K.L.NARASIMHAN
R,R2 BY ADV. SRI.T.NAVEEN, SC, POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD
ON 14-10-2016, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE
FOLLOWING:
W.P(C) NO.31648 OF 2009
APPENDIX
PETITIONER'S EXHIBITS:
----------------------
EXHIBIT P1 TRUE COPY OF THE REPRESENTATION DATED
29.08.2009 MADE BY THE PETITIONER TO THE
1ST RESPONDENT.
EXHIBIT P2 TRUE COPY OF THE REQUEST BY THE 3RD
RESPONDENT TO THE KERALA STATE POLLUTION
CONTROL BOARD DATED 28.4.2005.
EXHIBIT P3 TRUE COPY OF THE NO OBJECTION CERTIFICATE
ISSUED BY THE BOARD DATED 06.06.2005.
EXHIBIT P4 TRUE COPY OF THE APPLICATION DATED
10.07.2007.
EXHIBIT P5 TRUE COPY OF THE EXTRACT OF THE MINUTES
OF THE 160TH MEETING OF THE BOARD'S
DECISION AT THE AGENDA NO.6.5 HELD ON
27.09.2007 ON 04.10.207.
EXHIBIT P6 TRUE COPY OF THE SAID REQUEST DATED
28.11.2007.
EXHIBIT P7 TRUE COPY OF THE EXTRACT OF THE
RESOLUTION VIDE AGENDA NO6.4 TAKEN
09.05.2008.
EXHIBIT P8 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DATED 27.06.2008
GRANTING DEPUTATION TO THE 3RD RESPONDENT.
EXHIBIT P9 TRUE COPY OF THE RELEVANT PAGES OF THE
NOTE FILES OBTAINED UNDER RIGHT TO
INFORMATION ACT.
EXHIBIT P10 TRUE COPY OF THE NOC DATED
02.01.2009.
EXHIBIT P11 TRUE COPY OF THE GOVERNMENT CIRCULAR
DATED 27.09.2005.
EXHIBIT P12 TRUE COPY OF THE LETTER OF
APPRECIATION DATED 06.04.1997 ISSUED BY
THE CHAIRMAN.
EXHIBIT P13 TRUE COPY OF THE APPLICATION OF SOYA
Y.DAS ALONG WITH THE SYNOPSIS AND THE
W.P(C) NO.31648 OF 2009
ORDER OF RESEARCH REGISTRATION UNDER DR
V.R.PRAKASHAN, READER, UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES,
KARYAVATTOM.
RESPONDENTS' EXHIBITS:
----------------------
EXHIBIT R2(A) TRUE COPY OF AN EXTRACT OF SECTION 17 OF
THE ACT.
EXHIBIT R2(B) TRUE COPY OF PROCEEDINGS
NO.PCB/E1/2457/89 DATED 17.03.1990.
EXHIBIT R3(A) TRUE COPY OF THE NO OBJECTION
CERTIFICATE ISSUED BY THE KERALA STATE
POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD TO THE THIRD
RESPONDENT NO.PCB/E/11377/2002 DATED
06.05.2005.
EXHIBIT R3(B) TRUE COPY OF THE COMMUNICATION BY THE
REGISTRAR, KERALA UNIVERSITY ADDRESSED
TO THE PRINCIPAL, COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING,
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM NO.ACE1.B2/211126/2006
DATED 29.05.2006.
EXHIBIT R3(C) TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER
NO.PCB/E4/20093/2005 DATED 14.12.2007 OF
THE KERALA STATE POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD.
EXHIBIT R3(D) TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER
NO.PCB/E4/20093/2005 DATED 26.03.2008 OF
THE MEMBER SECRETARY.
EXHIBIT R3(E) TRUE COPY OF THE CERTIFICATE ISSUED BY
THE MEMBER SECRETARY OF THE BOARD
NO.PCB/E1/8561/05 DATED 01.01.2009.
EXHIBIT R3(F) TRUE COPY OF THE CERTIFICATE ISSUED BY
THE MEMBER SECRETARY OF THE BOARD
NO.PCB/E1/8561/2005 DATED 02.01.2009.
EXHIBIT R3(G) TRUE COPY OF THE CERTIFICATE DATED
26.11.2009 ISSUED BY THE HEAD OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICE,
UNIVERSITY OF KERALA CONFIRMING THE
JOINING OF THE THIRD RESPONDENT AS FULL
TIME RESEARCH SCHOLAR DOING PH.D.
W.P(C) NO.31648 OF 2009
EXHIBIT R3(H) TRUE COPY OF THE NOTIFICATION
NO.PCB/E1/4564/04 DATED 16.01.2006 BY THE
CHAIRMAN.
EXHIBIT R3(I) TRUE COPY OF THE ARTICLE APPEARED IN
VOLUME NO.4 JANUARY 2009 PART OF POEM -
MAGAZINE OF THE KERALA STATE POLLUTION
CONTROL BOARD ENGINEERING STAFF
ASSOCIATION
BY ALEXANDER GEORGE.
EXHIBIT R3(J) TRUE COPY OF THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
ASSOCIATION 2007-2008.
EXHIBIT R3(K) TRUE COPY OF THE ARTICLE APPEARED IN
VOLUME 3 JULY 2008 - POEM - MAGAZINE OF
THE KERALA STATE POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
ENGINEERING STAFF ASSOCIATION UNDER
CAPTION
BY ALEXANDER GEORGE.
EXHIBIT R3(L) TRUE COPY OF THE ARTICLE
BY PAULUS EAPEN
/TRUE COPY/
P.S. TO JUDGE
MOHAN M.SHANTANAGOUDAR, C.J.
&
SATHISH NINAN, J.
===================================
W.P(C) No.31648 of 2009
===================================
Dated this the 14th day of October, 2016
J U D G M E N T
MOHAN M.SHANTANAGOUDAR, C.J.
The petitioner is a retired senior Superintendent of the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (for short, "the Board"). He has approached this Court by filing this public interest litigation for the following reliefs:
(1) To declare that Exty.P8 order is illegal and without jurisdiction inasmuch as the said order is beyond the provisions of the Kerala State Pollution Control Board Subordinate Service Regulations, 1999 as approved by the Government.
(2) To declare that Exts.P5 and P7 resolutions of the Board cannot be given effect without amending the Kerala State Pollution Control Board Subordinate Service Regulations, 1999 in accordance with law.
W.P(C) No.31648 of 2009 -: 2 :- (3) Issue a writ, order or direction directing the 1st respondent to recover the salary paid to the 3rd respondent in deputation for research work, being against Ext.P11 and the provisions of the Kerala State Pollution Control Board Subordinate Service Regulations, 1999."
2. Learned Advocate for the petitioner submits that there is no provision in the Kerala State Pollution Control Board Subordinate Service Regulations, 1999 (for short, "the 1999 Regulations") for sending a person on deputation for higher studies and that the 3rd respondent who was permitted to do Ph.D. Course on deputation was not entitled for pay and allowances during the period of deputation. Since public exchequer is being spent for the study of the 3rd respondent, this writ petition is filed, in public interest.
3. It is not in dispute that the 3rd W.P(C) No.31648 of 2009 -: 3 :- respondent herein was granted permission to undergo research leading to Ph.D subject to certain conditions. At that point of time, the 3rd respondent was working as Assistant Environmental Engineer. The Board having been satisfied that acquiring higher qualifications by the 3rd respondent would be beneficial to the Board, permitted her to proceed on deputation for higher studies.
4. Pursuant to Ext.P8 order dated 27.06.2008, the 3rd respondent was relieved off her duties with effect from 02.02.2009 to undergo deputation for Ph.D inasmuch as, the Board had made regular appointment to the 32 posts of Assistant Engineers during the relevant point of time.
5. The 3rd respondent has completed the W.P(C) No.31648 of 2009 -: 4 :- Ph.D Course and the two years' period of deputation is already over. In this view of the matter, prayers 1 and 2 as made in the writ petition have become infructuous.
6. However, learned Advocate for the petitioner presses the 3rd prayer mentioned supra contending inter alia that the 3rd respondent was the only beneficiary of the courtesy shown by the Board by sending her on deputation with pay and allowances.
7. The 1st respondent has filed a counter affidavit in the writ petition. We have also perused the documents produced by respondents 2 and 3 along with their counter affidavits.
8. We find from the material found in the the counter affidavit duly sworn to by the Additional Secretary to Government, W.P(C) No.31648 of 2009 -: 5 :- Environmental Engineering Department, that the Board is a statutory quasi judicial authority constituted by the State. It is neither a Government Department nor a Public Sector Undertaking. The Board is constituted under the provisions of Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 to exercise the powers conferred under the Act. One of the functions of the Board is to encourage, conduct and participate in investigation and research leading to problems of water pollution and prevention, control or abatement of pollution. The efficiency of the Board can be improved by way of attaining higher qualifications by its employees. The Board has been deputing engineers since 1977 for higher studies. In the early years, the deputation was for a ten months' W.P(C) No.31648 of 2009 -: 6 :- Course of Master Engineering in Public Health and then for 1= years' course of Master of Engineering/Technology in Environmental Engineering. Later, the length of the period of the course was increased to 2 years in all the educational institutions. The Board in its 160th meeting held on 27.07.2007 and extended on 04.10.2007 elaborated the scope for higher studies by deciding that Engineers and Scientists in the Board can be deputed to undergo higher studies subject to certain conditions. The Board in its 161st meeting held on 31.01.2008 decided that granting of deputation for Ph.D programme should be made on a case to case basis. The criteria of granting deputation was decided to be purely the benefit which will accrue to the Board and the State of W.P(C) No.31648 of 2009 -: 7 :- Kerala. The Board in its 162nd meeting held on 09.05.2008 decided to allow the 3rd respondent to undergo deputation to Ph.D Course on the subject of Water pollution, monitoring and prediction. The Board, while granting deputation, made it clear that the deputation allowed to the 3rd respondent is not an undue favour and she would not be eligible for out of turn promotion or any additional monetary benefit on acquiring the Ph.D but her higher level of knowledge would contribute to the functioning of the Board in a better way. As per the 1999 Regulations, it is obligatory on the part of the employees of the Board to go for higher studies/training if the Board so directs. The Board has encouraged 3rd respondent's endeavour to attain Ph.D and she was granted No W.P(C) No.31648 of 2009 -: 8 :- Objection Certificate to do part time research leading to Ph.D. The Board has so far deputed 40 officers for higher studies for either ME (EE) or M.Tech/Environmental Engineering from 1977 to 2009. No objection was raised by the petitioner to anyone being deputed for higher studies except in the case of the 3rd respondent. It is made more than clear by the State Government that the knowledge gained by way of higher studies will be beneficial in discharging the statutory functions. In that regard orders were issued allowing deputation to the 3rd respondent to undergo research leading to Ph.D.
9. Since employees can be permitted by the Board under the 1999 Regulations to undergo higher studies which, in turn, help the W.P(C) No.31648 of 2009 -: 9 :- institution as well as the State, no interference is called for. Moreover, this is not a solitary incident relating to deputation for higher studies. We have already made it clear that the two years term of deputation granted to the 3rd respondent is already over. Hence no useful purpose will be served in reopening the settled position. We do not find any public interest in this litigation. Accordingly no interference is called for.
Writ petition fails. It is accordingly dismissed.
Sd/-
MOHAN M.SHANTANAGOUDAR, CHIEF JUSTICE.
Sd/-
SATHISH NINAN, JUDGE.
vsv /true copy/