1. The matter relates to the appointment of the permanent Thalayari of Sorathur Village, Tiruvannamalai Taluk, North Arcot District. The contestants were the petitioner and the 2nd respondent. Earlier there was an order of remand by the Revisional Authority, the 1st respondent herein, on 8.10.1977 and in view of the controversy raised by Mr.V.M.Lenin, learned Counsel for the petitioner, on the question of satisfaction of the age qualification as laid down by rule 8 of the Tamil Nadu Village Officers Services Rules, 1970 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Rules’), the relevant portion of the order of remand requires extraction as follows:

“A careful scrutiny of the reports shows that neither the Tahsildar nor the Revenue Divisional Officer has ascertained the date of birth of both the revision petitioner and the respondent. Only medical certificates from the Medical Officer, Govt. Primary Health Centre, Vettavalam has been obtained both in respect of the revision petitioner and the respondent. In respect of the revision petitioner Thiru S.Murugesan, the Medical Officer has stated on 7.2.76 that his age according to his own statement was about 27 years and by appearance he was aged