IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS DATED : 12.04.2024 CORAM THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE D.BHARATHA CHAKRAVARTHY W.P.No.33043 of 2022 V.Arokiadass ... Petitioner Vs.

The Chairman, Teachers Recruitment Board, College Road, Chennai – 600 006. ... Respondent Prayer: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of Constitution of India, for issuance of a Writ of Mandaums to direct the respondent to issue a copy of the OMR marking sheet of the petitioner in the TNTET paper-II, 2013 examination dated 18.08.2013 and consequently if the petitioner is found eligible to be granted the three additional marks as claimed by him, then to issue the necessary Eligibility Certificate for the year 2013 to the petitioner and permit him to apply and participate in the upcoming rounds of recruitment.

For Petitioner : Mr.S.Sandesh Saravanan For Respondent : Mr.R.Siddharth Standing Counsel

ORDER

The writ petition is filed for a direction to the respondents to issue a copy of the OMR Marking Sheet of the petitioner in the TNET Paper-II, 2013 examination dated 18.08.2013 and consequentially if the petitioner is found eligible to be granted the three additional marks as claimed by him, then to issue the necessary Eligibility Certificate for the year 2013 to the petitioner and permit him to apply and participate in the upcoming rounds of recuritment.

2. The petitioner has the necessary education qualification to be appointed as a BT Assistant. The petitioner took part in the Tamil Nadu Teachers Eligibility Test (hereinafter referred to as TNTET) in the year 2013. The petitioner secured 79 marks while the minimum required pass mark was 82. Already by virtue of deletion of two questions, two marks have been granted. If the petitioner is granted one more mark, he will be declared pass.

3. In the said circumstances, in respect of one of the question, i.e., in which language the song “Vande Mataram” was first written, there were four answers viz., Bengali, Urudu, Marathi and Sanskrit.

4. As per the key answer Sanskrit was the correct answer. However, the matter was challenged before the Hon'ble Division Bench in W.A.No.1040 of 2017. By an order dated 12.10.2017, the Hon'ble Division Bench allowed the case of the candidates by directing the respondents to give one mark for the candidates who have attempted in any of the two answers i.e., Bengali and Sanskrit.

5. Thereafter, the matter was again came up for consideration before yet another Hon'ble Division Bench in W.A.No.167 of 2020. The Hon'ble Division Bench found that the song “Vande Matharam” was first written in Bengali alone and Bengali is the correct answer. Reasoning of the Hon'ble Division Bench in Paragraph 7 & 8 in W.A.No.167 of 2020 dated 03.02.2020 is extracted hereunder:-

“7. We have considered the submissions made. We find it necessary to answer the issue viz., with regard to the correctness or otherwise of the answer opted by the respondent/writ petitioner. The Division Bench in the case of The Chairman, Teachers Recruitment Board, College Road, Chennai-6 v. K.Veeramani, decided on 12.10.2017 (W.A.No.1040 of 2017), categorically recorded, and with which we also agree, that the song “Vande Matharam” was first penned and recorded in Bengali viz., by Bongkim Chondro Chottoapadhyay.

The song was later on translated into Sanskrit. The question posed in the question paper was, as to in which language the song “Vande Matharam” was written first?. It is, therefore, no longer in doubt that the song was written in Bengali first and therefore, option “A” was the correct answer.

8. Surprisingly, the Division Bench while proceeding to record its findings, abruptly held that both the answers viz., Bengali and Sanskrit, are correct. We cannot agree to any such conclusion drawn and the appropriate course for us in such circumstance would be to refer the matter to a Larger Bench in order to maintain judicial propriety, but on the facts of the present case, we find that the reference may not be necessary, in as much water was