IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS DATED : 19.11.2025 CORAM:

THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE G.K.ILANTHIRAIYAN and W.M.P.No s . 4 1145 & 4 1147 o f 2025

1.S.M.Karthikeyan

2.R.Kavitha

3.R.Sivakumar 4.N.Saravanan

5.M.Abdul Khaadar

6.K.Jobin Stephenson 7.D.Painthamil Selvan

8.R.Ragavendran

9.P.Kuppusami 10.H.Pradhaban

11.M.Vinoth Kumar

12.C.Nagappan

13.M.Ramesh 14.G.Shankar 15.R.Gopinath

16.Padmavathi ... Petitioners -Vs-

1.The Chairman Cum Managing Director, Erstwhile TANGEDCO Now TNPDCL, No.144, Anna Salai, Chennai – 600 002.

2.The Chief Engineer/Personnel, Personnel Officer / Recruitment, Erstwhile TANGEDCO Now TNPDCL, No.144, Anna Salai, Chennai – 600 002.

3.The Secretary, Tamil Nadu, Generation and Distribution Corporation Ltd., Erstwhile TANGEDCO Now TNPDCL, No.144, Anna Salai, Chennai – 600 002.

4.The Secretary, Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission, No.3, TNPSC Road, VOC Nagar, Park Town, Chennai – 600 003. ... Respondents Prayer : Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of Constitution of India praying for the issuance of a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, to call for the records of the 2nd respondent relating to the order in Letter No.043664/G20/G202/2023-1 dated 18.03.2024 and Notification No.13/2025 in Advertisement No.717 Combined Technical Service Examination (ITI Level) – II, dated 03.09.2025 inviting applications for filling up the 1794 posts of Helper/Field Assistant issued by the 4th respondent, quash the same as illegal, arbitrary, unreasonable being violative of rules and principles of natural justice and thereby direct the respondents herein to consider and absorb the petitioners and similarly placed apprentices for appointment as Helper/Field Assistants or in any other suitable category by relaxing the upper age limit of the petitioners within the respondent 1st to 3rd departments in accordance with Section 22(1) of the Apprentices Act, 1961, as amended by Act 29 of 2014 with effect from 22.12.2014.

For Petitioners : Mr.K.S.Viswanathan Senior Counsel for Ms.T.Dharani For Respondents : Mr.R.Nikkilesh Athav for Mr.K.Rajkumar [R1 to R3]

Mr.B.Vijay Standing Counsel [R4]

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O R DER

This Writ Petition has been filed challenging the order passed by the 2nd respondent, dated 18.03.2024, thereby rejecting the representations submitted by the petitioners seeking appointment in the post of Helper/Field Assistant and also challenging the notification, dated 03.09.2025, thereby inviting applications for filling up 1794 posts of Helper/Field Assistant.

2. Heard both sides and perused the materials available on record.

3. The petitioners have undergone apprenticeship training conducted by the National Council for Vocational Training, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, for the purpose of securing employment in the Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (TNPDCL) as per Apprentices Act, 1961 (in short ‘the Act’). As per Section 22 of the Act, it shall not be obligatory on the part of the employer to offer any employment to any apprentice who has completed the period of his apprenticeship training in his establishment, nor shall it be obligatory on the part of the apprentice to accept an employment under the employer. Subsequently, it was amended with effect from 22.12.2014, by which Section 22(1) was amended as ‘every employer shall formulate its own policy for recruiting any apprentice who has completed the period of apprenticeship training in his establishment’. Accordingly, the petitioners have submitted their representations to frame a recruitment policy as mandated u/s 22(1) of the Act. However, it was not considered and as such, they have filed a writ petition before this Court in W.P.No.17334 of 2023. This Court, by its order, dated 12.06.2023, directed the respondents to consider the representations submitted by the petitioners and pass orders in accordance with law. Accordingly, the 2nd respondent formulated the policy, dated 31.08.2017, which is extracted herein:-

“(1) All apprentices who have undergone