The main legal point established in the judgment is the determination of seniority for promotion to the post of Associate Professor based on Rule 35(a) of the General Rules for Tamil Nadu State and Subordinate Services.

Dr. G. Vinodh, who is currently serving as Senior Assistant Professor, aggrieved by the non-inclusion of his name in the panel for the next avenue of promotion, namely, Associate Professor, has come to this Court challenging the circular issued by the Director of Medical Education, Chennai, the second respondent herein in Ref.No.88967/E1/5/2014 dated 4.3.2015, to quash the same insofar as the panel to the post of Associate Professor in Dental Surgery for the year 2014-2015 is concerned and for a consequential direction to the first and second respondents to include the name of the petitioner in the panel for the year 2014-2015 so as to consider his case for promotion to the post of Associate Professor in Dental Surgery.

2. Mr. V. Vijay Shankar, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner, after completing his B.D.S. Course, joined the post of Assistant Dental Surgeon in the Tamil Nadu Government Medical Service on 25.8.2000 and thereafter he did his post graduation in the department of Conservative Dentistry. Consequently he switched over to the Directorate of Medical Education by joining as Assistant Professor in the department of Conservative Dentistry on 27.3.2008 in the Tamil Nadu Government Dental College and Hospital, Chennai and since then, he is working as Senior Assistant Professor sincerely to the satisfaction of his superiors. While so, he is awaiting promotion to the post of Associate Professor. Adding further, he submitted that a person with post graduate degree and five years of teaching experience is eligible to be promoted to the post of Associate Professor. However, he claims that there is no separate service rules meant for Dental services. But the practice in vogue for promotion to various cadres is that the respondents stick on to what was prescribed in the Medical Council of India norms. In the meanwhile, the second respondent by the proceedings dated 21.8.2014, directed all the heads of institutions to furnish the complete service particulars of medical officers in order to prepare the promotional panel for the post of Associate Professor of Dental Surgery for the year 2014-15, making it clear to furnish the proforma particulars in respect of the medical officers who have completed five years of service as on 15.3.2014. Accordingly, a list of medical officers was prepared showing the name of the petitioner at Serial No.20 and the respondents 3 & 4 at Serial Nos.22 & 21 respectively. This apart, when the petitioner has completed his five years of teaching experience as early as on 26.3.2013, he was hopefully expecting the respondents 1 & 2 to empanel him for promotion to the post of Associate Professor for the year 2014-15. On the contrary, to his shock and surprise, the second respondent issued a circular on 4.3.2015 informing that the Government have approved the regular/temporary panel for the post of Associate Professor in respect of dental surgery, micro-biology and physiology; that the promotion counselling for the post of Associate Professor would be held on 6.3.2015 at the office of the second respondent. Adding further, the learned counsel submitted that even in the panel for promotion to the post of Associate Professor in Dental Surgery is concerned, the names of the respondents 3 & 4 have been shown without showing the petitioner's name. On enquiry it was found that the respondents 3 & 4 do not satisfy the criteria of possessing five years teaching experience as on 15.3.2014. However, in spite of the said defect, they have been included in the panel for promotion ignoring the petitioner's name. Therefore, the petitioner has been forced to come to this Court seeking a prayer for quashing the impugned circular.

3. Continuing his arguments, Mr. V. Vijay Shankar, learned counsel submitted that on the cut-off date, namely, 15.3.2014, the respondents 3 & 4 did