IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS DATED : 03.04.2024 CORAM :

THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MUMMINENI SUDHEER KUMAR W.P.No.4517 of 2017 and W.M.P.Nos.4742 & 4743 of 2017 S.Keerthana ... Petitioner Vs.

The General manager CHNZ Bank of Baroda Zonal Office, No.41, 3^rd floor, Luz Church Road, Mylapore, Chennai-4. …Respondent PRAYER: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying for issuance of Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, calling for the records of the respondent in its CHNZ/HRM/COORD/06/135 dated 07.02.2017 and quash the same and consequently direct the respondent to confirm the petitioner's services with all consequential and attendant benefits.

For Petitioner : Mr.V.Vijay Shankar For Respondents : Mr.G.Anandakrishnan

ORDER

The petitioner herein participated in the recruitment process in response to a common recruitment process for recruitment of Probationary Officer/Management Trainees undertaken by the institute of Banking Personnel selection in the year 2014 under Scheduled Tribe category and emerged as successful candidate and she was selected for the post of Probationary Officer. Accordingly, she was given appointment order dated 06.07.2015 appointing her as Probationary Officer in the respondent Bank and the petitioner has been continuing as such as on date.

2. However, the service of the petitioner was not confirmed for want of production of caste certificate in the prescribed format as required under the recruitment notification. At the time of issuing appointment order to the petitioner, the respondent Bank insisted the petitioner to produce the community certificate in the prescribed format and the petitioner was required to undertake to produce the same within 15 days. The petitioner was aged 21 years at the time of participation in the said recruitment process. Accordingly as required by the respondent Bank, the petitioner has furnished an undertaking to produce the community certificate in prescribed format within 15 days. However, the petitioner failed to produce community certificate in the prescribed format.

3. In view of the same the respondent Bank has issued impugned proceeding requiring the petitioner to produce the caste certificate as per the prescribed format on or before 28.02.2017 and informed that in any case, if the petitioner fails to produce the prescribed community certificate, the Bank will proceed further in the matter as it deems fit. Aggrieved by the said notice date 07.02.2017, the petitioner approached this Court by filing present writ petition. This Court, while entertaining the present writ petition, granted an interim stay of all further proceedings pursuant to the impugned notice dated

07.02.2017.

4. The respondent filed counter affidavit contending that recruitment notification itself makes it mandatory to produce the community certificate in the prescribed format and as such the petitioner shall produce the community certificate in the prescribed format, in case if the petitioner intends to claim the reservation under any category and the petitioner having accepted the said condition and participated in the recruitment process, and having undertaken to produce the caste certificate in the prescribed format, failed to produce the same. It is also contended that the proforma prescribed is by the Central Government which is applicable to all the Banks and almost all the candidates have produced the caste certificate in the prescribed format, except the petitioner.

5. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner contended that the petitioner has produced her community certificate certifying that the petitioner is a person belonging to Scheduled Tribe community issued by competent authority i.e., the Revenue Divisional Officer and there is no dispute about the caste status of the petitioner, but the respondent is insisting for producing the community certificate in the prescribed format but the revenue authorities in the state of Tamil Nadu are not ready to is