IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

DATED : 03.12.2025

CORAM

THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE R.SURESH KUMAR

and

THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE V.LAKSHMINARAYANAN

W.A.No.3646 of 2025

and

C.M.P.No.30131 of 2025

1.The Director of School Education,

DPI Campus, College Road,

Chennai – 600 006,

Chennai.

2.The Chief Educational Officer,

Thiruvarur District,

Thiruvarur.

3.The District Educational Officer,

Thiruvarur Educational District,

Thiruvarur. .. Appellants

Vs.

R.Raju,

S/o.S.Raju, B.T.Assistant (English),

Government Higher Secondary School,

Kandiramanikkam, Thiruvarur District,

Thiruvarur. .. Respondent

Prayer: Writ Appeal filed under Clause 15 of Letters Patent, praying to allow the Writ Appeal and set aside the order dated 25.04.2025 made in For Appellants : Mr.M.Suresh Kumar Additional Advocate General Assisted by Mr.S.Yashwanth Additional Government Pleader For Respondent : Mr.S.Nedunchezhiyan

J U D G M E N T

(Judgment of the Court was made by V.LAKSHMINARAYANAN, J.) This intra Court appeal arises against the order passed by this Court in W.P.No.34451 of 2019, dated 25.04.2025.

2.The parties shall be referred to as per their respective ranks in the writ petition.

3.The writ petitioner is a member of Scheduled Caste community.

He obtained Diploma in Teacher Education in the year 2008. Thereafter, he secured his graduation in English with Computer Applications from the Bharathiyar University in the year 2011. He completed his bachelor of education in the year 2012. Hence, he was eligible to be appointed to the post of Secondary Grade Teacher as well as BT Assistant in English. As required under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, the petitioner took up the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) in October, 2012. The petitioner secured 92 marks in Paper-I and 102 marks in Paper-II.

4.The respondents had called for applications from eligible persons to be appointed to the post of secondary grade teachers as well as BT assistants. The petitioner was one such candidate. The petitioner, having cleared TET with high marks, was expecting appointment as BT Assistant (English). However, his appointment was withheld by the Teachers Recruitment Board, since a doubt arises in the mind of that authority whether his degree in B.A. (English with Computer Application) can be treated as equivalent to B.A. (English).

5.Since the petitioner had secured eligibility for appointment of a secondary grade teacher, he was issued proceedings on 12.12.2012. He joined the said post on 17.12.2012. He was functioning in the said post till 24.02.2014.

6.In the meantime, the Government of Tamil Nadu issued G.O.Ms.No.72, Higher Education Department, dated 30.04.2013, holding that B.A.(English with computer application) is equivalent to B.A. (English) literature. Consequent to this Government Order, the Joint Director of School Education, issued proceedings on 22.02.2014, appointing the petitioner as B.T. Assistant (English) in the Government High School, Komapuram, Pudukottai District. The petitioner was relieved from the post of secondary grade teacher on 24.02.2014 and joined the post of B.T. Assistant (English) on 25.02.2014.

7.The petitioner claimed that he is entitled to count the period of service rendered by him in the post of secondary grade teacher for service benefits in the post of B.T. Assistant. He claimed that he should be given seniority and other benefits on par with his juniors, who were given appointments, in the year 2012. The request of the petitioner that his services should be regularised from 17.12.2012 was rejected by the 2^nd respondent on 11.04.2019. The 2^nd respondent stated that the services of the petitioner can be regularised only from 25.02.2014 and there is no provision for regularisation of his services from 17.12.2012 when he joined the service as a secondary grade teacher. Challenging the same, the petitioner filed W.P.No.34451 of 2019.

8.This Court entertained the writ petition and directed the respondents to file a counter. The counter a