A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Tuesday directed the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) to issue within two days posting orders to candidates advised by the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC). This is to replace the empanelled conductors whose services have been terminated and avoid cancellation of bus services and thereby hardship to the public.

The Bench of Justice V. Chitambaresh and Justice R. Narayana Pisharadi passed the order observing that the public should not feel that the KSRTC services were affected because of the court’s intervention.

When the Advocate General submitted that the services of the KSRTC would be affected if the order was implemented immediately, the court observed that cases had been pending before the court for the past several months.

Time given

The court pointed out that the transport corporation had been granted sufficient time to implement the order. However, nothing had happened. The refusal of the KSRTC to give appointment to PSC-advised candidates and retain the empanelled conductors was ‘a fraud on the Constitution,’ the court said.

The KSRTC counsel informed the court that it was implementing the court directive on a war footing.

Orders issued to 251

Appointment orders had been issued to 251 candidates. The appointment orders for the remaining candidates advised by the PSC were being processed and would be completed and despatched at the earliest.

The court then directed the KSRTC to issue the appointment orders to the remaining candidates at the earliest.

4,071 go out

The corporation also submitted that 4,071 empanelled conductors had been issued termination orders. A total of 93 units of the corporation had dispensed with the services of the empanelled conductors and put up a general memorandum in this regard on December 16.

No empanelled conductors had been engaged by any of the units since December 18.

The court adjourned the case to December 20.