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2022 Supreme(Online)(MAD) 36356
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS DATED : 17.11.2022 CORAM THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE S.M.SUBRAMANIAM W.P.Nos.19939 of 2014 And 36827 of 2016 and W.M.P.Nos.31625 of 2016 and 22183 of 2021 W P No.19939 of 2014:
1.R.Prema Latha
2.S.Shanthi 3.A.Mekala
4.A.Balamurugan 5.M.Muruga Dhas
6.K.Kennedy
7.G.Rameshkannan ... Petitioners Vs.
1.The State Of Tamil Nadu Rep. by the Secretary to Government Higher Education Department, Fort St. George, Chennai-600 009.
2.The Director Of Collegiate Education, College Road, Chennai-600 006.
3.The Registrar University Of Madras, Chennai-600 005.
4.The Commissioner of Police Chennai-600 008. 5.S.Jeyachandran 6.Mr.palaniappan
7.Pachaiyappa's Trust Board, Pachaiyappa's College Campus, Chennai – 600 030.
Rep. by its Secretary.
8.C.Sundaramurthy
9.Sheela
10.S.Malarvizhi 11.G.Sathyadevi
12.P.Ramesh
13.S.Uthamakumar
14.S.Meena 15.G.Anitha
16.S.Sunithaanilkumar
17.S.Ulaganathan
18.P.Vasanthakumar
19.K.Subapriya
20.A.Asaithambi
21.K.R.Vijaya
22.R.Ganapathyraman
23.S.Chandrasekaran
24.P.Elangovan
25.V.Sivamurugan
26.T.K.Sunitha
27.R.Ganeshkumar
28.P.Karthikeyan
29.N.Santhi
30.P.S.Sathyanarayanan
31.H.Thilagam 32.R.Saravanan
33.R.Siva
34.V.Ganesan
35.G.Kumararaja
36.V.Srinivasan
37.R.M.Thirumaran
38.R.Latha
39.R.Maheshwari 40.A.Rajalakshmi
41.K.Saravanaperumal
42.P.Vimala
43.S.Kanimozhi 44.P.Thenmozhi 45.S.Hemalatha
46.S.Susa
47.M.Ramadevi
48.S.Shyamalagowri
49.D.Rajakumari 50.P.Karkuzhali
51.M.Chitra 52.B.Radha
53.S.Senthilkumari 54.K.Chithra Devi
55.D.Sasikala 56.G.Sivagami
57.S.Archana 58.C.Sampath
59.M.Thirumalai
60.G.R.Ramkumar
61.P.Srinivasan 62.S.Hariharan
63.R.Rasheethabanu
64.M.Sivasankari
65.R.Selvarasu
66.V.Arul
67.R.Sakthivel
68.Kannan
69.A.Prakasam
70.M.Renugadevi
71.G.Selvi
72.K.Anbarasu
73.R.Kamalakannan
74.A.Saravanan
75.M.Najeema 76.T.Suganya
77.K.K.Gomathy
78.J.K.Gandhimathy
79.S.Jeyalakshmi
80.A.Anbuselvi
81.M.Mahalakshmi 82.S.Vijayalakshmi
83.T.Uma
84.G.Kavitha
85.M.S.Sumathy
86.P.Lavanya
87.D.Uma Maheswari
88.S.Karthikeyan
89.R.S.Uthayakumar
90.P.Muthusamy
91.L.S.Thirumalai 92.N.Senthilkumar
93.M.Thangaraj
94.M.Savithri
95.N.Jothyrama
96.A.Kavitha 97.Y.Karnan
98.P.Prayer Elmoraj
99.P.Kannaki
100.S.Shanmugapriya
101.G.Uthra
102.G.Gandhimathi
103.R.Sakthivel
104.D.Arumainayagam
105.G.Mangalam 106.D.Sivanesan
107.R.Sunitha 108.P.Gathrin
109.K.Ponnarasi 110.R.Hariharan
111.S.Ayyampillai 112.V.Sivasankar
113.M.Sathiyanathan
114.M.Gopalakrishnan
115.M.Koteeswari
116.M.Prabhakaran
117.N.Karpagam
118.M.Elamvazhuthy 119.S.Syamala Gowri
120.S.P.Sujatha
121.N.Akila
122.P.Mahalakshmi 123.R.Sakthikumar
124.P.Priya
125.S.Sumathy
126.M.Senthamarai
127.A.S.Andal
128.D.Chidhambaram
129.R.Amudhabose 130.C.Maykrishnan 131.Saravanakumar 132.R.Vimala Devi
133.K.Bhuvaneswari
134.S.Yogeshwari
135.S.Shyamala Devi
136.S.Ananda Priya
137.C.Revathi
138.Z.Ayesha Siddiqha
139.A.Subashini
140.D.Sasikala
141.G.Lakshmi Sai
142.T.Kumari Subitha 143.M.A.B.Saraswathi
144.K.Kalpana 145.K.B.Latha
146.S.Indhumathy 147.M.R.Selvarani
148.E.Kumar
149.S.Arun
150.U.Chandrakumar
151.K.Gowrisankar
152.P.Ananadhan
153.P.Suresh
154.M.Sagadevan 155.M.Arulmozhi
156.R.Rajini 157.S.Prasad
158.S.Gopalakrishnan
159.M.Boopalan
160.P.Prabu
161.G.R.Learnal Sudhakar
162.J.Selvanathan
163.R.Harikrishnan
164.A.Sureshbabu 165.R.Raveenthar
166.R.Muthuraman
167.V.Raja
168.R.Periasamy
169.L.Sivaramakrishnan
170.C.Panneerselvam
171.M.B.S.Rani
172.R.Nimmy
173.M.Maria Belcy Rajathy
174.S.Kalaiselvi
175.P.Deepa
176.R.Meenakshi 177.S.Sangeetha 178.T.Jayasheela
179.G.Vimala
180.S.Uthayanila
181.Dr.S.subburani
182.N.Uma
183.G.Jayachitra
184.R.Pazhaniammal
185.V.Suyambuthangam
186.D.Maheshwari
187.K.Anbarasi
188.D.Muthumari
189.M.R.Shabegam
190.R.Shanmugapriya
191.S.Sumathy
192.S.Sangeetha
193.K.Kadhambari
194.S.Jancy Sophiya
195.V.Kalpana
196.M.Ezhilbama
197.A.Sridevi
198.P.Amudhavalli
199.R.Kunaguma Priya
200.V.Anitha ... Respondents [R7 impleaded as per order dated 13.10.2014 in MP.No.2 of 2014 in W.P.No.19939 of 2014]
[R8 to R200 impleaded as per order dated 27.11.2017 in WMP.No.30460 of 2017 in WP.No.19939 of 2014]
Prayer: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for issuance of a Writ of Mandamus, direction in the nature of a writ appointing a Special team to enquire into the appointments of Assistant Professors appointed by the Pachaiyappa's Trust Board in (1) Pachaiyappa's College, Chennai-30, (2) C.Kandaswami Naidu College for Men, Anna Nagar, Chennai-40, (3) Chellamal College for Women, Guindy, Chennai, (4) Pachaiyappa's College for Men, Kancheepuram, (5) Pachaiyappa's College for Women and (6) C.Kandasami Naidu College for Women, Cuddalore pursuant to the Advertisements dated 12.12.2013 and 18.02.2014 and to initiate criminal action against those found guilty.
For Petitioners : Mr.P.Chandrasekar For Respondents For R1 &R2 : Mr.D.Ravi Chander Special Government Pleader Assisted by Mr.C.Jayaprakash Government Advocate For R3 : Mr.M.Palanimuthu For R4 : Mr.S.Rajesh Government Advocate For R7 : Mr.K.V.Sundararajan For R8 & R178 : Mr.V.M.Nagarajan For R5 : Mr.M.A.Gouthaman For R10, 42, 44, 45, : Mr.G.Sankaran
48 & 133 For R33, 37 & 44 : Mr.N.R.Anantharam Krishnan For R46 & R137 : Mr.M.Ravi For R56, 64 & 144 : Mr.R.Bharanidharan For R36, 38, 73, 92, 93, : Mrs.G.Thilagavathi
96, 131, 141, 148, 153, Senior Counsel
156, 168 & 172, 129 For Mr.R.Gopinath For R179 : Mr.M.Gnanasekar For R9, R11 to R16, : Mr.A.Ajoy Khose
18, 19, 21 to 32, 34, 35 39, 40, 43, 49, 51 to 55, 57 to 63, 66, 67, 70, 71, 72, 76 to 78, 80, 81, 83, 84, 86 to 91, 94, 95, 99, 100, 101, 103 to 125, 127, 130, 135, 138 to 140, 142, 145 to 147, 149 to 152, 155, 157, 159 to 167, 169, 170, 174 to 176, 180, 189, 192 & 194 to 200 For R17, 20, 50, 97 : Mr.R.M.D.Nasrullah & 98 For R47, 132 & 134 : Mr.N.Alagurnarayanan For M/s.RRN Legal For R177 : Mr.A.S.Balaji and Mr.M.Jothikumar For R85 : Mrs.Selvi George For R143 : Mr.T.Sundaravadhanan For R6, 65, 74, 82, 102, : No Appearance
126, 128, 136, 143, 154, 158, 190, 191 & 193 For R68, 69, 75, 79, : Not Ready in Notice
171 & 173 WP No.36827 of 2016:
1.R.Prema Latha
2.S.Shanthi 3.A.Mekala
4.A.Balamurugan 5.M.Muruga Dhas
6.G.Rameshkannan ... Petitioners Vs.
1.The State Of Tamil Nadu Rep. by the Secretary to Government Higher Education Department, Fort St. George, Chennai-600 009.
2.The Director Of Collegiate Education, College Road, Chennai-600 006.
3.The Registrar University Of Madras, Chennai-600 005.
4.The Registrar Thiruvalluvar University, Vellore, Vellore District.
5.The Pachaiyappa's Trust Board Pachaiyappa's College Campus, Chennai 600 030.
Rep. by its Secretary.
6.S.Jeyachandran
7.The Principal Pachaiyappa's College, Chennai-600 030.
8.The Principal Chellamal College for Women, Guindy, Chennai.
9.The Principal C.Kandaswamy Naidu College For Men Anna Nagar, Chennai-600 040 10.The Principal Pachaiyappa's College for Men, Kancheepuram, Kancheepuram District.
11.The Principal C.Kandaswamy Naidu College for Women, Cuddalore, Cuddalore District.
12.S.Uma
13.R.Vimala
14.M.Vihashmunoth
15.R.Devi
16.S.Vijayalakshmi
17.M.Indhumathy
18.R.Sheelarani
19.Dr.Swarnalatha 20.R.Sidheshwaran 21.V.Vinothkumar 22.K.Rameshbabu
23.R.Prasad 24.J.Kavina
25.N.Amutha
26.Ms.Jayapriya
27.Dr.S.Ramu 28.Dr.B.Devan
29.V.M.Mahalakshmi
30.P.Sathyamurthy
31.E.Jerish Immanuel
32.Dr.A.D.Revathy
33.G.Sivabalan
34.O.Vijayalakshmi
35.T.V.Swaminathan
36.M.Roopa
37.Dr.S.Vanitha
38.Dr.D.Manimegalai
39.M.Karthik 40.Mr.Gokul 41.Ms.Prema
42.Dr.Thennarasu
43.Vinayagamurthy
44.Venkatesan
45.Ms.Selvi
46.Ms.Mahalakshmi
47.Dr.N.Srinivasan 48.Mr.Gunaseelan 49.Mr.Manikandan
50.Dr.S.Poompozhil
51.Dr.T.Kavitha 52.Ms.S.Saranya 53.Dr.C.Naveena
54.Dr.Ramya
55.Ms.Anbujebamalar ... Respondents Prayer: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for issuance of a Writ of Mandamus, direction in nature of writ appointing a special team to enquire into the appointments of respondents 12 to 55 as Assistant Professors appointed by the Pachaiyappa's Trust Board in (1) Pachaiyappa's College, Chennai-30, (2) C.Kandaswami Naidu College for Men, Anna Nagar, Chennai-40, (3) Chellamal College for Women, Guindy, Chennai, (4) Pachaiyappa's College for Men, Kancheepuram, (5) Pachaiyappa's College for Women and (6) C.Kandaswami Naidu College for Women, Cuddalore pursuant to the advertisements dated 02.12.2015 and declare the selection of respondents 12 to 55 and their appointment as illegal and void.
For Petitioners : Mr.P.Chandrasekar For Respondents For R1 &R2 : Mr.D.Ravi Chander Special Government Pleader Assisted by Mr.C.Jayaprakash Government Advocate For R3 : Mr.M.Palanimuthu For R5 : Mr.K.V.Sundararajan For R26, 31 & 35 : Mrs.G.Thilagavathi Senior Counsel For Mr.R.Gopinath For R13 to 16, 21 to 23, : Mr.A.Ajoy Khose
25, 27 to 30, 32 to 34, 42 to 44, 46 to 55 For R36 & 37 : Mr.G.Sankaran
C O M M O N O R D E R
PRELUDE :
“We the People of India” resolved equal opportunity in public employment under the Constitution. Inequality in public employment violates social justice. Corruption in the process of selection is anti developmental. Misplaced sympathy or leniency, while dealing with illegality, corrupt practices in the process of selection by the State or by the Courts amount to abating unconstitutionality. The Authority of the State or the Authority of the Courts are bound by the constitutional mandates and principles. Remaining as silent spectator on illegality and corruption is the worst form of unconstitutionality. Easy approach by the State or by the Courts undoubtedly resulted in spreading of large scale corruption in this country in the matter of public appointments. The extent of illegality, corrupt activities in the process of selection plays pivotal role in setting aside the process of selection as a whole.
2. Lakh and lakh of meritorious youth of this country are longing to secure public employment through Open Competitive Process. Their confidence in the system is demolished if the State and the Courts allow the illegality and corrupt activities in the process of selection. Are those meritorious candidates are sinners? What is the duty of the Constitutional Authorities and the State to deal with such situations, where large scale corruption in the process of selection is traced out. Equality clause enunciated how long be allowed to remain in Constitution Book in this country, even after completion of 75 years of independence. Growing trend of corruption is the agony. The working of constitution and the Courts in this regard must be looked into seriously.
3. The greatest negativeness is that greedy people are adopting delay tactics in order to cover up the illegalities and corrupt practices by keeping the issues pending either before the State or before the Court of Law, which gave them strength for escaping from consequences. “Justice delayed is justice denied” is the old theory and even in case of delay, justice must prevail.
4. Recruitment to public services must command public confidence. Where the entire process of selection is to be flawed, its cancellation is inevitable. Hardship caused to few untainted is unavoidable.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND :
5. The writ petitions are filed to declare the selection and appointment as null and void.
6. Pachaiyappa's Trust Board [hereinafter referred to as the 'Board', in short] is controlling several Institutions in Chennai, Kancheepuram, Cuddalore etc. Pachaiyappa's Trust Board by an advertisement dated 12.12.2013 called for applications to fill up 82 posts of Assistant Professors under various disciplines for six Colleges under the control of the Board. Similarly by an advertisement dated 18.02.2014, the Board called for applications to fill up 119 posts of Assistant Professors. As against 83 vacancies advertised by Notification dated 12.12.2013, the Board has filled up 80 posts. Pursuant to the Notification dated 18.02.2014, the Board filled up 113 posts. WP No.19939 of 2014 has been filed by the writ petitioners in respect of appointments made pursuant to the advertisements dated 12.12.2013 and 18.02.2014.
7. The Board by an advertisement dated 02.12.2015 called for applications to fill up 66 posts. The petitioners also participated in the process of selection. University Grants Commission (UGC) Regulations on minimum qualifications for appointment in Universities and Affiliated Colleges as amended on 30.06.2010 and 13.06.2013 govern appointments. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has made it clear that all appointments shall be in accordance with the qualification prescribed by the UGC Regulations only.
8. The contention of the petitioners is that all appointments have been made in gross violation of Regulations framed by the UGC, which was adopted by the Government of Tamil Nadu. Though applications were invited in On-line process, the results were not publishe
