IMPORTANT POINT
The judgment established that when the selection process itself suffers from legal infirmity, there is no need to analyze individual cases on a case-by-case basis.

JUDGMENT :

Prayer: Writ Appeal filed under Clause 15 of the Letters of Patent, against the order dated 01.02.2024, made in W.P. (MD) No. 10419 of 2023.

1. These batch of Writ Appeals are the sequitur of the writ petitions filed by various employees challenging the order of removal passed by the Commissioner of Milk Production and Dairy Development Department and the consequential orders passed by the General Manager, Madurai District Cooperative Milk Producers Union, Madurai.

2. The background of the case in brief is that, the Maudrai, Virudhunagar and Trichy District Co-operative Milk Producers Unions, issued a notification for recruitment of staff in various posts. Pursuant to the said notification, several candidates applied to the respective Unions and thereafter, on conducting written examination and interview, appointment orders were issued. On receiving complaints about the irregularity in the appointment, the Vigilance Cell of the Aavin Milk Producers Federation conducted an enquiry and found that the appointments made pursuant to the advertisement for filling up of various posts bristles with rampant irregularity and nepotism and therefore, proper enquiry is required to be conducted. Based on the said recommendation, an enquiry under Section 81 of the Tamil Nadu Co-operative Societies Act [in short “the Act”] was conducted. The appointees were called for to give their statements and thereafter, the Deputy Registrar [Dairying], Dairy Development Department, who has conducted the enquiry, has submitted his report finding fault with the process of appointment. As a consequence, an instruction was sent to the respective District Unions to take action. As a result, all those who were appointed pursuant to the notification issued in the year 2019, were terminated by the impugned order issued in the month of January, 2023. Challenging the order of removal, few of the affected appointees have approached this Court and few of them have approached the Principal Seat of this Court. Those who have approached the Principal Seat of this Court, had the advantage of an interim order. Whereas, the same advantage was not available for the petitioners, who have approached this Court. Later, the respondents brought to the notice of the learned Judge, who heard the Writ Petitions in the Principal Seat of this Court, that the connected matters are pending before this Court, where the real territorial jurisdiction lies. Meanwhile, the writ petitioners, those who have approached the Principal Seat of this Court, had also filed Writ Petitions for similar prayer before this Court and later, withdrew their Writ Petitions pending before the Principal Seat of this Court.

3. A batch of Writ Petitions filed by the aggrieved appointees in the Madurai, Trichy and Virudhunagar Districts Co-operative Milk Producers Unions, were taken up for consideration by the learned Judge and disposed of on 29.03.2023, negativing the relief sought for. Aggrieved by the same, they preferred intra-court appeals and the same were taken up for consideration and were disposed of in the following terms:

“(i) The order of the learned Single Judge, dated 29.03.2023 in W.P. (MD) Nos. 512, 515, 505, 516, 506, 528, 529, 531, 511, 541, 538, 534, 525, 507, 540, 509, 504, 501, 503, 526, 510, 523, 539, 542, 519, 432, 517, 532, 527, 514, 520, 524, 513, 530, 533, 502, 518, 537, 521, 536 and 535 of 2023 are set aside inasmuch as it relates to the Trichy District Co-operative Milk Producers Union Limited.

(ii) The corresponding Writ Petitions filed by the appellants/selected candidates of Tiruchirapalli District Co-operative Milk Producers Union Limited stand partly allowed by quashing the orders, dated 28.12.2022 of the first respondent and 03.01.2023 of the second respondent and consequently, the appellants/writ petitioners are directed to be reinstated into service with continuity of service. However, considering the overall facts and circumstances of the case, they will not be entitled