The court ruled that petitioners without completed P.G. degrees cannot demand equal treatment in transfer counselling based on seniority over fully qualified peers.

3. The Director of Medical and Rural Health Services DMS Campus, Anna Salai Teynampet, Chennai-600006. ... Respondents Prayer:- Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, 1950, praying to issue a Writ of Mandamus, directing the respondents to re- conduct the inter-Directorate transfer counselling after arriving the seniority list of Medical Officers following Civil Medical List (CML) seniority in compliance with the Government Order issued by the first respondent in G.O.(2D) No. 131, Health and Family Welfare (A1) Department dated 20.11.2007 by recalling the transfer counselling held on 25.01.2025, forthwith and consequently permit the petitioners to participate in the counselling based on CML seniority, in consideration of representation submitted by the petitioners.

For Petitioners : Mr.J.Jayamalan For Respondents : Ms.M.Sneha, Spl.C.

(For Health & Family Welfare Department)

O R D E R

The writ petition has been filed to issue a writ of mandamus for a direction to the respondents to re-conduct the inter-Directorate transfer counselling after arriving the seniority list of Medical Officers following Civil Medical List (CML) seniority in compliance with the Government Order issued by the first respondent in G.O.(2D) No. 131, Health and Family Welfare (A1) Department dated 20.11.2007 by recalling the transfer counselling held on 25.01.2025, forthwith and consequently permit the petitioners to participate in the counselling based on CML seniority, in consideration of representation submitted by the petitioners.

2. Heard Mr.J.Jayamalan, learned counsel for the petitioner and Ms.M.Sneha, learned Special Counsel for Health and Family Welfare Department and perused the materials placed on record, apart from the pleadings of the parties.

3. The petitioners, who have completed P.G. Medical course but awaiting results in different Specialities, are working as Senior Assistant Surgeons. When they participated in the counselling for P.G. service candidates during August 2024, they wanted to be posted in DME, but due to want of vacancy they have been accommodated in DMS.

4. The petitioners were given to understand that they will be accommodated in the DME as and when vacancy arises, after promotion counselling through which the Assistant Professors are given promotion to the post of Associate Professors for the panel year 2024.

5. When the promotion counselling was conducted during January 2025 by DME, many Assistant Professors have been elevated to the post of Associate Professors and the future vacancies are sought to be filled up by intra-Directorate and inter-Directorate transfer counselling.

6. The petitioners' service particulars have been called for as per circular dated 06.11.2024. The second respondent has issued a circular dated 09.01.2025 stating that the transfer counselling is going to be conducted from 20.01.2025 to 25.01.2025. In the tentative seniority list prepared for that purpose, the petitioners have been placed in the bottom of the seniority list and they have been placed under the head 'condonation batch medical officers' list'.

7. Now the grievance of the petitioners is that the persons junior to them and who are also having similar qualifications, have been posted in DME, but the petitioners, who have been temporarily placed due to want of vacancy, have been kept below in the seniority list and hence, the transfer counselling is discriminatory and hence, appropriate direction should be given to re-conduct the transfer counselling by arriving at the seniority list properly.

8. Curiously, the petitioners have not chosen to challenge the counselling proceeding, but have sought a direction wherein they wanted to quash the earlier transfer coun