The main legal point established is that the court can direct the appointment of a petitioner on a regular basis with notional increments based on the treatment of similarly placed persons and the arbitrariness in administrative actions.

The petitioner has filed this writ petition seeking issuance of a writ of Mandamus to direct the respondents to appoint the petitioner as a Secondary Grade Teacher on regular basis with effect from 03.01.2002, date on which the petitioner's junior, Sheik Allaudin, was appointed on time scale of pay with all consequential benefits, including arrears of pay, continuous seniority.

2. The facts in a nutshell are as under:

The petitioner, who was a resident of Sathankulam District, shifted his residence to Karur District and his name was also removed from the family card at Sathankulam, as is evidenced from the certificate issued by the Tahsildar. The petitioner, after shifting his abode, registered his name with the Karur Employment Exchange seeking employment as Secondary Grade Teacher. The Tahsildar, Karur also issued a residence certificate to the effect that the petitioner is residing in Karur from 29.01.2000 onwards.

3. For the selection process of the year 2000-2001 for the post of Secondary Grade Teacher, names of several candidates were sponsored and petitioner was under the belief that his name would also be sponsored in the order of seniority of registration in the employment exchange. However, on 17.09.2001, a notice was issued by the first respondent qua an enquiry regarding registration of employment in Karur Employment Exchange.

4. Not satisfied with the explanation offered by the petitioner, the first respondent passed an order dated 24.12.2001 cancelling the registration of the petitioner and 80 other similarly placed persons in Karur Employment Exchange.

5. Assailing the said order of cancellation of registration, one Balagangadharan filed W.P.No.9 of 2002 and this Court, by order dated 03.01.2002 granted an order of interim stay of the order passed by the first respondent and it is the say of the petitioner that by virtue of the order of interim stay, there is no impediment for appointing the petitioner consequent to his registration with the Karur Employment Exchange.

6. It is further stated that the respondents sponsored and appointed several juniors of the petitioner as Secondary Grade Teachers and ante-dated all such appointments as 03.01.2002, viz., the date of passing of the interim order by the Court in the above said writ petition.

7. It is averred that on 11.11.2002, the petitioner gave a representation to the first respondent regarding his bonafide residence in Karur and sought consequential relief of endorsing his name in the Karur Employment Exchange. It is stated that the first respondent on 15.11.2002 directed the petitioner to produce migration certificate before the Karur Employment Exchange in order to establish the genuineness of his residence in Karur.

8. It is stated that on 29.11.2002, the petitioner produced a migration certificate issued by the Tahsildar, Santhankulam to the effect that the petitioner migrated from Tuticorin District to Karur District after 1999. Thereafter, on 30.04.2003, a migration certificate is stated to have been issued by the Tahsildar, Karur stating that the petitioner and his family members migrated to Karur District. Pursuant to the same, the petitioner's name was endorsed again in the Karur Employment Exchange and was allotted with enrolment number as No.4112 of 1999.

9. It is the case of the petitioner that even though there was no impediment for appointment of petitioner as Secondary Grade Teacher, the respondents appointed his juniors citing the order dated 24.12.2001 of the District Collector, which was stayed by this Court. It is averred that subsequently, this Court disposed of W.P.No.9 of 2002 by directing the respondents to consider the names of the persons for appointment as Secondary Grade Teachers.

10. It is the specific plea of the petitioner that the above said order was passed by this Court following an earlier order passed in W.P.No.15307 and batch cases, wherein it was held that any appointment made before the verification of residence of the petitio