Just minutes after retirement, Kerala govt employee receives promotion order

Cherthala, Kerala: What was supposed to be the final day of service for Bindu, an accounts officer at the Government Engineering College in Kannur, turned into an unexpected career milestone.

Last Saturday, May 30, 2026, was marked as Bindu's last working day at the institution, where she was preparing to bid farewell to colleagues after years of service. However, within minutes of completing the formalities associated with her retirement, she received surprising news that would alter her plans.

After leaving the college around 5 pm and reaching her residence at about 5:30 pm, Bindu received a WhatsApp message informing her that she had been promoted and appointed as an Administrative Assistant at the Government Engineering College in Thrissur.

The message further directed her to report for duty the very next day.

The post is a higher-ranking position in the Administrative Wing of the Department of Technical Education. Such appointment and promotion orders are usually issued through the department's e-office system. Since the decision was made at short notice, the order was communicated to her via WhatsApp. The message arrived just as Bindu was preparing to return to her hometown of Cherthala after receiving a warm farewell from her colleagues on what she believed would be her final day at the Government Engineering College in Kannur.

Then came an unexpected complication. May 31 was a Sunday, raising the question of how she could formally assume charge of the new post.

Bindu immediately contacted the Directorate of Technical Education in Thiruvananthapuram and later spoke with the superintendent of the Government Engineering College in Thrissur. By then, the superintendent had already received instructions from the Directorate regarding her appointment. She also informed her husband about the sudden development.

Bindu had already booked a ticket on the overnight Maveli Express to return to her hometown of Cherthala. Instead, she boarded the same train and got down at Thrissur, where a relative received her at the railway station and arranged her stay for the night.

Following directions from the superintendent, a clerk came to the college on Sunday morning and opened the office specially for the joining formalities. At 10 a.m., Bindu officially assumed charge as Administrative Assistant at the Government Engineering College, Thrissur.

By 5 p.m. that evening, her service officially came to an end, and she stepped down from the post.

In an extraordinary twist, Bindu experienced two retirements within 24 hours, first as Accounts Officer at the Government Engineering College, Kannur, and then as Administrative Assistant at the Government Engineering College, Thrissur.

While Bindu had been expecting the promotion, she had almost given up hope by the middle of May due to the delay in the order. Although it arrived at the last moment, she is delighted that she was able to retire after receiving the long-awaited promotion. Bindu, the daughter of Lalitha Ambika Devi and the late Ramachandra Panicker, is residing in Cherthala’s Pattanakkad. Her husband Anil Kumar is a retired military officer, and the couple have two children, Vaishakh and Dr Vaishna Shyam.