**IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM**
**PRESENT:**
**THE HONOURABLE SMT. JUSTICE P.V.ASHA**
**TUESDAY, THE 10TH DAY OF APRIL 2018 / 20TH CHAITHRA, 1940**
**WP(C).No. 12474 of 2018**
## **PETITIONER:**
**GEETHA JOSE, W/O.DR.SAM T. KURUMTHOTTICAL,AGED 50 YEARS, SCIENTIFIC ASSISTANT, PATHOLOGY DIVISION, THE RUBBER RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF INDIA (RRII) RESIDING AT FLAT NO.3A, RUBBER RESIDENCY, MATTAMBALAM P.O., KANJIKUZHI,KOTTAYAM -686 004**
**BY ADVS.SRI.R.SANJITH SMT.C.S.SINDHU KRISHNAH SMT.JEENSHA CHACKO SMT.ASHI SUKUMARAN**
## **RESPONDENT(S):**
**1. UNION OF INDIA, REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY UDYOG BHAWAN, NEW DELHI -110 107.**
**2. THE RUBBER BOARD, P.B.NO.1122, SUB JAIL ROAD, KOTTAYAM - 686 002 REPRESENTED BY ITS CHAIRMAN.**
**3. THE CHAIRMAN, THE RUBBER BOARD, P.B. NO.1122, SUB JAIL ROAD, KOTTAYAM - 686 002.**
**R1 BY SRI.N.NAGARESH, ASSISTANT SOLICITOR GENERAL OF INDIA R2 & R3 BY SRI.V.ABRAHAM MARKOS,SC**
**THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 10-04-2018, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:**
**sts 3/5/2018**
## **WP(C).No. 12474 of 2018 (H)**
## **APPENDIX**
## **PETITIONER(S)' EXHIBITS**
**EXT.P1 COPY OF THE ORDER DATED 3/9/2004 IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE WORK STUDY COMMITTEE ALONG WITH TYPED COPY. EXT.P2 COPY OF THE OFFICE MEMORANDUM DATED 18/2/2005 ALONG WITH JOINING REPORT EXT.P3 COPY OF THE ORDER DATED 20/1/2010 IMPLEMENTING CHANGE OF DESIGNATION OF POST IN THE 2ND RESPONDENT EXT.P4 COPY OF THE RELEVANT PAGES OF THE RECRUITMENT RULES APPLICABLE TO THE PETITIONER EXT.P5 COPY REPRESENTATION DATED 30/12/2016. EXT.P6 COPY OF THE OFFICER ORDER NO.1029 DATED 2/2/2018 EXT.P7 COPY OF THE OFFICE NOTE DATED 01/2/2017 EXT.P8: COPY OF THE REPRESENTATION DATED 19/2/2018 SUBMITTED TO 3RD RESPONDENT. EXT.P9: COPY OF THE REPLY DATED 9/3/2018 EXT.P10: COPY OF THE COMMUNICATION DATED 22/2/2017 ALONG WITH ITS TYPED COPY.**
## **RESPONDENT'S EXHIBITS:**
**NIL**
**/TRUE COPY/**
**P.A.TO JUDGE**
**sts 3/5/2018**
## **P.V.ASHA J.**
## **-------------------------------------**
## **W.P.(C).No.12474 of 2018**
## **-------------------------------------**
Dated this the 10[th] day of April, 2018
## **JUDGMENT**
Petitioner challenges Exts.P6, P7, P9 and P10 orders and seeks a direction to implement Ext.P4 service rules and to grant her promotion in accordance with the service rules.
2. The petitioner is working under the 2[nd] respondent - Rubber Board. By Ext.P6, the Rubber Board abolished 328 posts in different cadres which have been lying vacant, on the basis of direction from Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Ext.P7 is an order issued on 01.02.2017 by the 2[nd] respondent Board on the basis of the decision in the meeting of the Expenditure Finance Committee which approved the 12[th] Plan Scheme of Rubber Board with the following
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observations:
- _“Administrative expenses of the Board are disproportionately large and need to be rationalised._
- _The Department of Commerce has to examine ways and means to reduce administrative expenses of the Board.”_
3. It is also stated that the External Committee recommended that the establishment of Rubber Board has to be rationalised in terms of staff pattern and distribution of offices all over the country. It also refers to the direction of the Additional Secretary (Plantations) to the Chief Executive Officers of all Commodity Boards under the Department of Commerce not to fill up any vacant posts and not to effect any promotions without the prior approval of the Department of Commerce. It also cautioned that in case present structure and systems are continued, it will be difficult for timely payment of salaries and pension in future. Therefore, the Board was directed to reduce its establishment expenditure through
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## restructuring and re-organisation. It further
provided for the following:
- _“i. The rationalisation/restructuring proposals in the working Paper shall reduce the establishment cost substantially in a futuristic perspective._
- _ii. The staff strength of the Board is to be reduced from the sanctioned strength of 1977 nos. to 1100 nos._
- _iii. The restructuring shall not adversely affect the technical services being rendered by the Board._
- _iv. The Working Group shall examine the essentiality of posts and offices in terms of the services rendered, geographical distribution of rubber planted area, changing priorities, changes in government policies, potential of online services etc._
- _v. Avenues for minimising establishment expenses by merger of sections / divisions / offices, dissolving of departments and reorganisation, revisions in the present systems and procedures etc shall be explored._
- _vi. Ways and means to increase IEBR and cost reduction of the Board also have to be identified and included in the Working Paper._
- _vii. The Working Paper shall clearly identify measures which can be taken in 2016-17 itself and subsequently in a phased manner.”_
4. Ext.P9 is a memo issued by the Secretary in
Charge of the 2[nd] respondent in reply to the representation submitted by the petitioner informing her that one post of Junior Scientific Officer was
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abolished along with 33 other posts which are lying vacant for more than 5 years. It was also stated that the post which was abolished was kept reserved for Scheduled Tribe and was remaining unfilled for want of eligible candidate. It is further stated that the vacancy which arose on retirement in the post of Assistant Scientific Officer on 30.11.2016 was not filled in the absence of any eligible candidate in the select list of the DPC and therefore there was no consequential vacancy in the post of Junior Scientific Officer. Petitioner was informed that there is no vacancy in the post of Junior Scientific Officer and in view of the direction from the Ministry, the promotions cannot be made without prior approval of the Department. Therefore, she was informed that her request cannot be considered at present.
5. Ext.P10 is a letter from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India addressed to all the Chairmen of various Boards like Tea Board,
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Coffee Board, Rubber Board and Spices Board informing the decision of Government after analysing the mounting administrative expenditure details of the commodity Boards and directing that no vacant post should be filled up and no promotion should be made without prior approval of the Department.
6. According to the petitioner, these orders are contrary to service rules. The question whether promotion has to be made or not is to be decided by the employer. Petitioner, who is an employee under the Board cannot insist that promotion should be made as and when she is qualified. There is no statutory provision which mandates the filling up of any vacancy. The post in question is not one for exercising any statutory duties, which require to be manned always. The petitioner or any employee cannot have any say in the matter of abolition of a post and she does not have any right to insist that a vacancy has to be filled up, contrary to the directions of
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Government, issued after analysing the financial status of the Board which found that if the system is allowed to continue like this there will not be funds for any future payment.
7. In this case, the Rubber Board is constituted under the Rubber Act and it comes under the supervisory control of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Therefore, the Government of India has found that restructuring is necessary even for payment of salary to the existing employees and it is after evaluating the financial conditions as well as the expenditure being incurred, that directions have been issued to the Rubber Board to reduce the expenditure to restructure and rationalise the staff pattern and not to make promotion or fill up vacancies. First of all, the establishment viz the Rubber Bord should be in existence, in order to see implementation of service rules. Rubber Board is under the control of the Government of India. The Board is bound by the
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direction of the Government issued for the purpose of maintaining the Institution and to observe financial discipline. The 2[nd] respondent has only stated that as at present it is not possible to make any promotion in view of the directions issued by Government.
In the above circumstances, I do not find any reason to interfere with the orders issued by Government of India or the order issued by the 2[nd] respondent on the basis of the orders issued by the Government, which are all issued in the interest of and the existence of the Rubber Board.
Hence, this writ petition fails and is dismissed.
Sd/-
**P.V.ASHA, JUDGE.**
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