The age limit for appointment can be extended for Scheduled Caste candidates, allowing eligibility despite being over the standard age limit.

JUDGMENT :

R.SUBRAMANIAN, J.

Since all the Writ Petitions were disposed of by a common order, the appeals are also taken up together and disposed of by this common order.

2. The State is on appeal against the orders of the writ Court quashing the cancellation of appointment of the respondents in all these Writ Appeals, on the ground that the respondents were over aged on the date of appointment and on the ground that the respondent in W.A.No.3809 of 2024 has produced a false Transfer Certificate.

3. All the respondents were appointed as Cooks in the hostels attached to the Adi-dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department. The appointment orders were issued on 26.02.2021. The orders impugned in the Writ Petitions came to be passed on 19.04.2023. The writ Court had found that the respondents were not over aged, on a reading of Rule 5 of the Special Rules for Tamil Nadu Basic Service read with Section 20(8) of the Tamil Nadu Government Servants (Conditions of Service) Act, 2016 .

4. It is not in dispute that the posts to which the respondents were appointed are covered by the Special Rules for Tamil Nadu Basic Service. For the post of 'Cook' the educational qualification is that a person should be able to read and write Tamil. Rule 5(1) prescribes an age-limit of 30 years on the date of appointment. Proviso to Rule 5(1) grants an additional 5 years to candidates who belong to Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes. Therefore, the upper age limit as per the Special Rules for Tamil Nadu Basic Service is 35 years. Admittedly, all the respondents were aged above 35 years on the date of their appointments. Therefore, the order impugned came to be passed cancelling their appointments. The writ Court found that proviso to sub-section (8) of Section 20 of the Tamil Nadu Government Servants (Conditions of Service) Act, 2016 would apply and there would be an extension of another 5 years for the post to which the respondents had been appointed. The first proviso to sub- section (8) of Section 20 reads as follows:-

Provided that, for direct recruitment to a post included in a service for which the minimum qualification required is not higher than the minimum general educational qualification, the age limit prescribed shall be increased by five years in respect of candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes or in respect of destitute widows of all castes, who do not possess a general educational qualification, which is higher than the minimum general educational qualification;

5. Rule 5(1) of the Special Rules for Tamil Nadu Basic Service, which deals with 'Age' reads as follows:-

(1) Age: Candidates for appointment by direct recruitment to any of the posts other than those in Classes I and II must not have completed 30 years of age on the date of appointment.

Explanation:-

For the purpose of the sub-rule, the age limit, in the case of candidate appointed through Employment Exchange, be reckoned from the date of sponsoring of the candidate by the Employment Exchange concerned for appointment to the post.

Provided that a candidate belonging to the Scheduled Caste or the Scheduled Tribe shall be eligible for appointment to the above classes if he has not completed 35 years of age on the date of appointment.

Provided further that the age limit aforesaid shall not apply to the appointment of Ex-servicemen to any category.

*Provided also that the age limit shall not apply to the appointment made to this service from among the employees borne on the contingent establishment in the same department brought into regular establishment on completion of five years of service.

*(Inserted in G.O.Ms.No.677, P&AR (Per.F)Dept., dt.1.7.85)

Provided also that the age-limit shall not apply to appointment by direct recruitment from among Process Servers and Process Amins of the Revenue Department.

Provided also that the age-limit aforesaid shall not apply in the case of appointment of any person transferred from a local fund or municipal institution in consequence of th