The Kerala High Court on Friday stayed the selection process initiated for appointments to the posts of judicial members in the Kerala Administrative Tribunal (KAT).
Justice P.B. Suresh Kumar, however, made it clear that the interim order would not preclude the selection committee from initiating a fresh selection process when a chairperson was duly appointed to the tribunal.
The interim order came on a writ petition filed by T.T. Biju, a lawyer aspirant for the post. According to him, the selection process was initiated by including the acting chairperson of the tribunal in the selection committee.
The office of the chairperson of KAT had been vacant since September 2020. Therefore, the directive of the Chief Justice, who was the chairperson of the selection committee, to include the acting chairperson of KAT in the committee was bad in law.
The court observed that the selection process initiated without the chairperson of the tribunal in the selection committee was against the scheme of the statute. The petitioner had, therefore, made out a prima facie case for an interim order.
