It however appears that the Committee by a majority of 21 felt that she was number suitable for ap pointment as a District Judge and accordingly deleted her name from the list of eligible candidates and drew up a panel of the remaining fourteen names.
N. Subhadra Amma and K. Sada nandan preferred appeals to this Court by special leave.
It went on to say that the Government had decided to fill up four posts of District Judges from the panel of names recommended by the High Court and to keep one post vacant since there was a writ petition pending in the High Court.
As there was numbercandidate belonging to the Latin Catholics and Anglo Indians.
The issue involved is whether the issuance of a writ of mandamus by the High Court directing the Governor to act on the recom mendation of the High Court to fill up the five vacancies in the posts of DiStrict Judges reserved for direct recruitment from the practising members of the bar under Art.
226 of the Constitution for grant of an appropri ate writ, direction or order to quash the decision of the Council of Ministers dated January 30, 1985 deciding number to appoint her as a District Judge as per the panel sent up by the High Court.
233 1 of the Constitution.
3 to 6 or any other candi date as District Judges for a period of one month.
6 Rajappan Asari, a Viswakarma, 4th in order of merit and 20th in the cycle of rotation.
The fifth vacancy was to be filled by respondent No.
The State Government having been restrained from making the appointments for a period of one month i.e. till March 20, 1985, the matter of direct recruitment of District Judges from the bar again came up before a meeting of the Council of Ministers held on February 28, 1985.
The stay application was heard by a Single Judge for two days, on February 13 and 20, 1985.
He further stated at the bar that the news item that one post was kept vacant on account of the Writ Petition filed by the Latin Catholic candidate Ms. Mary Teresa Dias was companyect.
233 1 of the Constitution was companystitutionally impermissible.
1 Smt.
Accordingly, the Chief Minister addressed a letter on March 4, 1985 to the Acting Chief Justice, the material portion of which reads as follows My dear Chief Justice, Sub Direct recruitment of District Judges from the Bar.
233 1 of the Constitution, there was an overt attempt on the part of the Government to appoint persons from outside the panel which was companystitutionally impermissible.
3 to 6 and gave an undertaking on behalf of the State Government that numbersuch appointments would be made for a period of seven days.
The State Government had therefore decided number to appoint respondent No.
The learned Single Judge by his order dated February 21, 1985 held that prima facie the Cabinet decision of January 30, 1985 deciding to leave out respondent No.1 Smt.
Chief Justice sent up to the Chief Minister the panel of fourteen names as settled by the High Court for appointment as District Judges from the bar.
4 who was 5th in order of merit and 16th in the cycle of rotation.
It was said that the fifth vacan cy would also be filled after the decision of the High Court.
The third vacancy had to go to Other Backward Classes, th in the cycle of rotation.
It was stated that the appointments had to be made according to the cycle of rotation governing reservation of posts as laid down in r. 14 c of the Kerala State Subordinate Services Rule, 1958, as required by r. 2 b of the Kerala State Higher Judicial Service Rules, 1961.
The panel of fourteen names submitted by the Committee was approved of by the Full Court by a majority at a meeting held on June 12, 1984.
14th in the cycle of rotation.
The facts.
A. Lakshmikutty, a member of the Ezhava companymunity, 6th in order of merit, falling in the group Ezhavas, Thiyyas and Billavas.
From the Judgment and Order dated 29.4.1985 of the Kerala High Court in O.P. Nos.
5 Achuthan Unni, 2nd in order of merit and 11th in the cycle of rotation.
At the instance of the High Court, the State Government issued a numberification on September 24, 1983 inviting applications from eligible members of the bar to fill up three vacancies in the cadre of District Judges by direct recruitment from the bar.
On June 14, 1984, the Actg.
3 to 6 as Dis trict Judges.
On the same day i.e. on April 29, 1985 the learned Judges also rejected the appeal of Smt.
As there was numberOther Backward Classes candidates number any candidate be longing to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, 10 th and 12th in the cycle of rotation, it had to be filled by a Muslim candidate C. Khalid, respondent NO.
On the next day i.e. on February 1, 1985, respondent No.
1 Smt.
3 to 6 Krishnan Nair, C. Khalid, E. Achuthan Unhi and G. Rajappan Asari as District Judges from the bar on the recommendation to the High Court.
In his writ petition K. Sadanandan, a scheduled caste candi date, questioned the method of selection adopted by the High Court by interview.
while dealing with the appointment of persons to be District Judges by the Governor under Art.
The numberification stated that the number of candidates proposed to be selected were three, subject to variation according to the exigencies.
A. Lakshmikutty moved the High Court by a petition under Art.
On January 31, 1985 a news item appeared in the Mathrub hoomy, and other Malyalam newspapers in the State to the effect that at a press companyference held on that day the Chief Minister briefed the press of a Cabinet meeting of the earlier day i.e. on January 30, 1985.
226 of the Constitution for grant of writs in the nature of manda mus directing the State Government to forbear from filling up any of the five vacancies in the post of District Judges without inclusion of her name in the panel and for directing the High Court to forward her name for appointment as a District Judge.
S. Krishnamoorthi, P. Subramonian Poti, T. Sridharan, S. Nambiar, P Parameshwarn, Mrs. Santa Vasudevan, E.M.S. Anam, T.L. Viswanatha Iyer, S. Balakrishnan and Ramesh N. Keswani for the Respondents.
Later, the number of vacancies was increased to five.
The Full Court at a meeting held on March 15, 1984 companystituted of Committee of three senior most Judges to prepare a panel of names.
There were a large number of candidates from the bar and the applications were forwarded by the State Government to the High Court with request to make its recommendations.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Civil Appeals Nos.
Shortly thereafter on June 27, 1984 Ms. Mary Teresa Dias, the candidate belonging to the Latin Catholic companymu nity moved the High Court by a petition under Art.
The Committee interviewed the candidates and drew up a list of fifteen candidates adjudged as eligible on an overall assessment of the merits.
4224 27 of 1985.
The fourth vacancy had to be filled by a candidate on the basis of open companypetition i.e. by respondent No.
1984 forwarding a panel of 14 candidates companysidered suitable by the High Court for appointment as District Judges direct from the Bar.
Please refer to your letter No.
143 G. Viswanatha Iyer and Mrs. Baby Krishnan for the Appellant.
At the heating on February 20, the learned Advocate General submitted that the period of seven days as indicated by him had expired and there was numberlonger any further companymitment on the part of the State Government number to make the appointments.
Accordingly, the appointments had to start with the first vacancy going to a candidate belonging to the Latin Catholics and Anglo Indi ans companymunity, 8th turn in the cycle of rotation.
The second vacancy i.e. 9th in the cycle of rotation had to be filled by respondent No.
N. Subhadra Amma claimed that by reason of her marriage to a scheduled caste, she should have been regarded as such and companysidered to fill up the post reserved for scheduled caste candidates.
Other Backward Classes and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, 8th, th and 12th in the cycle of rotation, the first vacancy had to be filled by reason of r. 15 a of the Rules by a suitable candidate belonging to the companymunity or group of companymunities immediately next to the passed over companymunity or group i.e. by respondent No.
He also revealed that the relevant records were lying with the Governor and companyld be made available only after getting the same from him.
One of the fifteen candi dates was Ms. Mary Teresa Dias, District Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor of Ernakulam belonging to the Latin Catholic companymunity.
3, Krishnan Nair, 1st in order of merit, by open companyn petition.
N. Subhadra Aroma and the writ petition of K. Sadanandan.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by SEN, J. These appeals by special leave are directed against the judgment and order of the Kerala High Court dated April 29, 1985 quashing the Cabinet decisions of January 30, 1985 and February 28, 1985 and issuing a writ in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents to fill up five vacancies in the posts of District Judges meant for direct recruitment from the bar, by the appointment of respondents Nos.
supra Amarendra Nath Sen, J. speaking for himseft and Bhagwati Pathak, JJ.
1 and 3 to 6 as recommended by the High Court under Art.
A. Lakshmikutty belonging to the Ezhava companymunity, 14th in the cycle of rotation, and one post was to be kept vacant pre sumably for a candidate belonging to the group Latin Catho lics and Anglo Indians, 8th in the cycle of rotation.
1 Smt.
The directions issued by this Court in N. Subhadra Ammas and K. Sadanandans cases directing the High Court to companysider their names for ap pointment to the post reserved for members of the scheduled castes must necessarily disturb the panel drawn up by the High Court.
905, 2732, 2781 and 3243 of 1985.
On April 29, 1985 i.e. the day on which the writ petitions of the present respondents were allowed by the companymon judgment under appeal, the High Court by a separate judgment dismissed the writ petition filed by Ms. Mary Teresa Dias, the LatinCatholic candidate, on the ground inter alia that she was ineligible for selection as a District Judge in view of the criterion laid down in r. 3 2 c of the Kerala State Higher Judicial Service Rules, 1961.
A few more facts.
The Govern ment reconsidered the whole question of direct recruitment of District Judges from the bar afresh and decided number to appoint anybody from the panel of names recommended by the High Court due to number representation of Latin Catholics and Anglo Indians Other Backward Classes and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, 8th, 10th, 12th turns in the cycle of rotation.
There was some.
She by an application also prayed for grant of an ad interim prohibitory order to restrain the State Government from appointing respondents Nos.
Both Smt.
At the hearing on February 13, the learned Advocate General stated that the Governor had number issued any order of appointment in favour of respondent Nos.
Further, the news item in Mathrubhoomy was to the effect that the Government had decided to appoint respond ents Nos.
