IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS DATED : 01.12.2023 CORAM THE HON'BLE MRS.JUSTICE V.BHAVANI SUBBAROYAN W.P.No.22505 of 2017 M.Savari Muthu ... Petitioner Vs.

1. The Principal Secretary to Government, Health and Family Welfare Department, Fort St. George, Chennai - 600 009.

2. The Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, D.M.S. Compound, Anna Salai, Chennai - 6 ... Respondents Writ Petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, to issue a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, calling for the records in pursuant to the impugned letter of the 2^nd respondent in proceedings Letter No.O.Mu.23739/2016/D1 dated 07.11.2016 and the subsequent impugned letter of the 2^nd respondent issued in R.No.59137/MP2/S3/2016 dated 16.12.2016 and the subsequent impugned letter of the 2^nd respondent issued in R.No.27009/MP2/S3/2017 dated 26.04.2017 and quash these orders and consequently direct the 2^nd respondent to retrospectively promote the petitioner as Block Health Supervisor with effect from 27.08.1996 i.e. the date on which petitioner's junior Mr.Dharmalingam was promoted as Block Health Supervisor with all consequential service and monetary benefits.

For Petitioners : Mr.R.Prem Narayan For Respondents : Mr.L.S.M.Hasan Fizal Additional Government Pleader

ORDER

This Writ Petition has been filed seeking to call for the records relating to the impugned letter of the 2^nd respondent in Letter No.O.Mu.23739/2016/D1 dated 07.11.2016 and the subsequent impugned letter of the 2^nd respondent in R.No.59137/MP2/S3/2016 dated 16.12.2016 and the subsequent impugned letter of the 2^nd respondent in R.No.27009/MP2/S3/2017 dated 26.04.2017 and quash the same and consequently direct the 2^nd respondent to retrospectively promote the petitioner as Block Health Supervisor with effect from 27.08.1996 i.e. the date of which his junior Mr.Dharmalingam was promoted as Block Health Supervisor, with all consequential service and monetary benefits.

2. The case of the petitioner is that he joined as Basic Health Worker on 01.07.1966 and was promoted to the post of Basic Health Inspector (Qualified) on 15.11.1973 and retired from service on attaining the age of superannuation on 30.09.2000. During 1982, the Government vide G.O.Ms.No.1936 Health and Family Welfare Department dated 29.09.1982 had introduced Multi Purpose Health Worker Scheme in the State of Tamil Nadu. As per the said G.O., the post of Health Inspector was re-designated as Multi Purpose Health Supervisor. The next avenue of promotion from the post of Multi Purpose Health Supervisor is to the post of Block Health Supervisor. The said G.O. also categorized the Health Inspector into three categories namely 'A' Group, 'B' Group and 'C' Group. A Group consist of Health Inspectors and Basic Health Inspectors (Qualified), B Group consist of (i) Health Assistants of Kanyakumari District and Sengottai Taluk (ii) Cholera Supervisor (iii) Health Assistant in Panchayat Union. As per the above said G.O., the Multi Purpose Health Supervisors shall be drawn first from the seniority list of 'A' Group persons followed by 'B' Group persons and finally followed by 'C' Group persons. As per G.O.Ms.No.1936 Health and Family Welfare Department dated 29.09.1982, the petitioner fall under Group A (ii) category. As per provisional seniority list of Basic Health Inspectors (Qualified ) dated 28.01.1980 issued by the 2^nd respondent, the petitioner's name was placed in Seniority No.494. Thereafter, another seniority list was issued on 22.12.1983 in which his name was found in Seniority No.460.

3. The grievance of the petitioner is that the respondents misinterpreted G.O.Ms.No.1936 and started granting promotion to many persons whose names were not found in the original seniority list which was prepared in accordance with G.O.Ms.1936. As a result, many of the petitioner's junior who subsequently entered in the Government service were promoted to the post of Multi Purpose Health Supervisor and Block Health Super