An application for a government position is invalid if not submitted through the proper channel, and age relaxation cannot apply if the application is defective.

ORDER :

R.VIJAYAKUMAR, J.

The present writ petition has been filed seeking to quash the resolution of the second respondent dated 14.12.2019 and the consequential communication of the respondents 3 and 4 dated 26.05.2020. The petitioner had further prayed for a consequential direction to the third respondent to act upon the resolution of the second respondent dated 06.07.2019 by approving the appointment of the writ petitioner as Deputy Registrar of National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli.

(A).Facts leading to the filing of the present writ petition are as follows:

2.The petitioner herein was serving in the Indian Air Force from 23.01.1988 to 09.01.2006 as Sergeant. On his discharge, he was working as Section Officer in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi between 2006-2014 as a Section Officer

3.The petitioner herein had joined the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) as Administrative Officer on 20.03.2014 and according to him, he was relieved on 30.07.2018. It is further averred that in order to join the Indian Institute of Management, Thiruchirappalli, he tendered technical resignation to the 5^th respondent on 29.06.2018 and the same was accepted on 30.07.2018.

4.The petitioner had further averred that he had joined the 6^th respondent organisation as Senior Administrative Officer on 01.08.2018 and while he was serving there, he had applied for the post of Deputy Registrar in the National Institute of Technology, Trichy pursuant to the advertisement dated 08.05.2019.

5.According to the petitioner, the 55^th meeting of Board of Governors of National Institute of Technology was held on 06.07.2019 and in the said meeting, the petitioner's application for the post of Deputy Registrar was approved and he was selected. However, in the 56^th meeting held on 28.09.2019, the Board had advised the National Institute of Technology to seek legal opinion from the learned Additional Solicitor General before taking a final decision on his appointment. Based upon the legal opinion from the Additional Solicitor General, in the 57^th meeting held on 14.12.2019, the Board has resolved to cancel the recruitment of the Deputy Registrar and the Board had advised the institute to get officer for the Deputy Registrar Post through advertisement for direct recruitment or deputation. In the meantime, on 12.05.2020, the petitioner has addressed a communication to the first respondent regarding the cancellation of the selection procedure for the post of Deputy Registrar. As a reply to his complaint, a communication was addressed by the first respondent to the writ petitioner on 26.05.2020 explaining the reasons for cancellation of his selection and the reasons for passing resolution. This communication of the first respondent is also impugned in the present writ petition.

(B).Reasons assigned in the communication dated 26.05.2020 for cancellation of selection process are as follows:

6.The candidate has crossed 50 years as on the relevant date namely 07.06.2019 and therefore, the Board of Governors in their 56^th meeting had resolved to get legal opinion before final decision is taken.

7.In the legal opinion, it was stated that the petitioner has not claimed any such relaxation in his application. That apart, after getting discharged from Air Force, the petitioner had already joined JNU, Delhi in the year 2006 and therefore, he cannot seek reservation under Ex-servicemen quota for the second time. The Deputy Registrar post is a Group-A post and therefore, t