Selection criteria based on 10th standard marks is within the discretion of the appointing authority, provided it does not violate constitutional rights; no arbitrary discrimination found.

ORDER :

1. Assailing the impugned Government Order in G.O. Ms. No.198, Rural Development & Panchayat Raj (E5) Dept. dated 04.09.2025 and the District Notification No.4209/2025 dated 09.10.2025 issued by the 3rd respondent District Collector, Cuddalore in and by which the selection criteria is solely based on the 10 standard marks to be arbitrary and discriminatory, irrational and violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, the present writ petition has been filed.

2. Mr.Balathandayutham, learned Special Government Pleader takes notice for the respondents.

3. It is the case of the petitioner that the Tamil Nadu Village Panchayat Secretaries (Conditions of Service) Rules, 2023 was published vide the Government Order in G.O. (Ms.) No.113, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (E5) Dept., dated 13.09.2023 wherein Rule 3 provides for the appointment for Panchayat Secretaries shall be by direct recruitment and that the selection is to be carried out by means of open competitive recruitment process by a District Level Committee.

4. It is the further case of the petitioner that G.O. Ms. No.198, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (E5) Dept., dated 4.9.2025 was issued prescribing guidelines for mode of selection and appointment of Village Panchayat Secretaries in which the prescription has been given as under:-

(a) The sole academic criterion for selection shall be the marks obtained in the 10^th standard examina (b) 85% weightage shall be given to the 10 standard marks and 15% weightage shall be given for the interview.

(c) A system-generated merit list shall be prepared purely on the basis of 10^th standard marks (for converted marks/grades), without any rational normalization between different Boards, batches, or different schemes of examination; and (d) For the COVID-19 batch (2020-2021), in which no marks were awarded and only a pass certificate was issued, a uniform score of 66.67% is deemed for all such candidates.

5. It is the further case of the petitioner that the 4th respondent issued the impugned notification inviting online applications for 37 posts of Village Panchayat Secretary, specifying the qualification, priority categories and communal rotation and reservation and it further prescribed that the selection would be based on the aforesaid G.O. Ms. No.198.

6. It is the further case of the petitioner that she belongs to Most Backward Class/Denotified Community and had passed 10th standard in March, 2008 under the Tamil Nadu State Board and she applied for the said post. It is the further case of the petitioner that she passed the 10th standard examination in March, 2008 under the then existing ‘old system’ of examination in which the evaluation pattern was predominantly theory-based for almost all subjects, including Science. She completed her 10 standard (SSLC) in the year 2008 and Higher Secondary Certificate (12th Standard – HSC) in the year 2010 and has scored very good marks and is eligible in all respect for consideration to the post of Village Panchayat Secretary as per the applicable rules.

7. It is the further case of the petitioner that on and from the year 2010, the syllabus and method of examination from Standards VI to X were substantially modified and so also the examination structure and evaluation pattern were significantly altered and there is a fundamental shift from the earlier old system of assessment to a more integrated evaluation model.

8. It is the further case of the petitioner that as a consequence of the changes introduced over the years to the education pattern and pattern of evaluation, two types of candidates exists within the State of Tamil Nadu, one under the old scheme, which is prior to the introduction of the Uniform System of Education and the one under the Uniform System of Education and also persons from vario