BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT

Dated : 12.12.2025

CORAM

THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE B.PUGALENDHI

and

WMP(MD)Nos.28289, 28291 and 28292 of 2025

S.Deva ... Petitioner

Vs.

1. The Commissioner,

Rural Development and Panchayat

Raj Department,

Chennai – 600 015.

2. The District Collector,

Ramanathapuram District,

Ramanathapuram. 3. The Chairman,

District Level Committee,

District Collectorate,

Ramanathapuram District. ... Respondents

Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India,

praying this Court to issue a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus to call for the records of the impugned communication of rejection of call letter of the petitioner published in Tamil Nadu Rural Development Website dated Nil by the 2^nd respondent and quash the same as illegal and consequently,

direct the respondents to issue call letter for interview to the petitioner for the post of Village Panchayat Secretary for participation in the further process of selection pursuant to the Notification No.Na.Ka.M3/38005/2025 issued by the 2^nd respondent dated

08.10.2025.

For Petitioner : Mr.M.Kannan For Respondents : Mr.Ajmal Khan, Additional Advocate General assisted by Mr.C.Venkatesh Kumar, Special Government Pleader

ORDER

The petitioner has applied for the post of Village Panchayat Secretary, pursuant to the notification issued by the District Administration. The petitioner has scored 410 marks out of 500 in 10^th standard. The petitioner, believing that he has secured sufficient marks for the post of Village Panchayat Secretary, has approached this court challenging the intimation of his non-selection to the post by the Department.

2. The learned counsel for the petitioner, by referring to Rule 3(2)

of the Tamil Nadu Village Panchayat Secretaries (Conditions of Service) Rules, 2023 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Rules') submitted that the Village Panchayat Secretaries shall be selected through open competitive recruitment process and also as ordered by the Government. There was no proper open competitive recruitment process adopted in selecting the candidates for the Village Panchayat Secretaries and therefore, the petitioner has not been shortlisted for the interview.

3. The learned Additional Advocate General appearing for the respondents submitted that the petitioner, under the impression that the open competitive recruitment process as mentioned in Rule 3(2) of the Rules amounts to written examination, has filed this writ petition. The learned Additional Advocate General has clarified that the Government of Tamil Nadu has issued certain directions as to the manner in which the recruitment process has to be conducted, vide G.O.Ms.No.198, Rural Development Panchayati Raj (E5) Department, dated 04.09.2025. As per this Government Order, the Panchayat Secretaries will be selected based on the evaluation of the marks obtained in 10^th standard public examination and interview. This G.O. also prescirbes that 85% marks to be awarded based on the marks obtained in the 10^th standard public examination and 15% marks to be awarded for interview. The evaluation of the marks is also prescribed in clause VII of the said G.O.

4. With regard to the interview also, the learned Additional Advocate General clarified the manner in which the interview marks are awarded as per clause X of the said G.O. Therefore, according to the learned Additional Advocate General, the selection process has been conducted in a proper manner and there is no violation in the selection process. He further submits that the petitioner does not fall within the zone of consideration and therefore, he has not been selected.

5. This Court considered the rival submissions made.

6. The petitioner has applied for the post of Village Panchayat Secretaries, pursuant to the notification issued by the District Administration. The selection of Village Panchayat Secretary is made as per the Tamil Nadu Village Panchayat Secretaries (Conditions of Service) Rules, 2023. As per Rule 3 of the Rules, the Village Pa