KOCHI: The High Court on Tuesday directed the KSRTC to issue appointment orders to the candidates advised by the Public Service Commission (PSC) within two days to replace the empanelled conductors whose service were terminated, lest bus services were affected causing hardships to people.
A Division Bench comprising Justice V Chitambaresh and Justice R Narayana Pisharadi also observed people should not feel the KSRTC’s services were affected due to the court’s intervention. On KSRTC counsel’s submission the court directive will be implemented on a war footing, the court said it had lost faith in the corporation.
When the case came up for hearing, Advocate General C P Sudhakara Prasad submitted KSRTC’s services would be affected if the court order was implemented immediately. The appointees needed training which would take time.
The court observed the cases had been pending before it for several months. And, it had given a week’s time to the KSRTC to implement the order, but nothing happened.
“Refusing to appoint PSC advisees while retaining empanelled conductors is a fraud on the Constitution,” the court said. It said candidates were being appointed to collect money and issue tickets, not to drive. Hence, long-term training was not required. According to KSRTC, it issued termination orders to 4,071 empanelled conductors.
Close on the heels of the mass termination in the KSRTC, the corporation has directed the candidates who received advice memo from the PSC for the conductor post to report for duty on Thursday.
The candidates have been asked to report for duty at the corporation’s head office. In a notice issued to the candidates on Tuesday, KSRTC CMD Tomin J Thachankary said such short notice has been issued in order to abide by the High Court order to proceed with the appointment immediately.
The candidates have been asked to bring their advice memo from the PSC along with ID proof. The step has been taken in order to avoid the delay in issuing the registered post, said the CMD.
For more details, contact 0471-2471011. The reporting time for the 4,051 candidates has been divided into four separate batches.