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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRS Judgment Reserved on : 20.08.2019 Judgment Delivered on : 27.09.2019 CORAM :
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE R.SUBBIAH THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE C.V. KARTHIKEYAN and THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE C.SARAVANAN ----
Writ Petition Nos. 27127, 27156, 27225 of 2018 and Writ Petition No. 5397 of 2019 ---
WP No. 27127 of 2018 R. Boominathan .. Petitioner Versus
11. The Government of Tamil Nadu represented by its Secretary Home Department Secretariat, Fort St. George Chennai - 600 009
22. Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission represented by its Secretary Frazer Bridge Road, Park Town V.O.C. Nagar, Chennai - 600 003
33. The Director of Legal Studies Purasawalkam, Chennai - 600 010 (R3 was suo motu impleaded by order dated 23.10.2018 in WP No. 27127 of 2018)
44. The Registrar General High Court of Madras Chennai - 600 104 (R4 was suo motu impleaded by order dated 01.02.2019 made in WP No. 27127 of 2018)
55. The Secretary Government of Tamil Nadu Law Department Fort St. George Chennai - 600 009
66. The Registrar Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University Chennai (RR5 and 6 were impleaded as per order dated 26.06.2019 made in WP Nos. 27127, 27156 and 27225 of 2018) .. Respondents WP No. 27156 of 2018 Senthilkumar .. Petitioner Versus
1. The Secretary Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission TNPSC Road, V.O.C. Nagar Park Town, Chennai - 600 003
2. The Director of Legal Studies Purasawalkam, Chennai - 600 010 (R2 was suo motu impleaded by order dated 23.10.2018 in WP No. 27156 of 2018)
3. The Registrar General High Court of Madras Chennai - 600 104 (R3 was suo motu impleaded by order dated 01.02.2019 made in WP No. 27156 of 2018)
4. The Secretary Government of Tamil Nadu Law Department Fort St. George Chennai - 600 009
5. The Registrar Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University Chennai (RR4 and 5 were impleaded as per order dated 26.06.2019 made in WP Nos. 27127, 27156 and 27225 of 2018) .. Respondents R. Devaraj .. Petitioner Versus
1. The Government of Tamil Nadu represented by its Secretary Home Department Secretariat, Fort St. George Chennai - 600 009
2. Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission represented by its Secretary Frazer Bridge Road Chennai - 600 001
3. The Director of Legal Studies Purasawalkam, Chennai - 600 010 (R3 was suo motu impleaded by order dated 23.10.2018 in WP No. 27225 of 2018)
4. The Registrar General High Court of Madras Chennai - 600 104 (R4 was suo motu impleaded by order dated 01.02.2019 made in WP No. 27225 of 2018)
5. The Secretary Government of Tamil Nadu Law Department Fort St. George Chennai - 600 009
6. The Registrar Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University Chennai (RR5 and 6 were impleaded as per order dated 26.06.2019 made in WP Nos. 27127, 27156 and 27225 of 2018) .. Respondents WP No. 27225 of 2018 R. Gokul Murugan .. Petitioner Versus
1. The Director of Legal Studies Purasawalkam High Road Chennai - 600 010
2. The Principal Government Law College Coimbatore .. Respondents WP No. 27127 of 2018:- Petition filed under Article 226 of The Constitution of India praying to issue a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus to call for the records pertaining to the impugned proceedings nil in respect of petitioner's Registration No. 020002091 dated 05.10.2018 passed by the second respondent herein and to quash the same and consequently direct the second respondent to declare the result of petitioner in respect of Petitioner's Registration No. 020002091.
WP No. 27156 of 2018:- Petition filed under Article 226 of The Constitution of India praying to issue a Writ of Mandamus directing the respondent to consider the petitioner under Non-PSTM candidature while deciding final selection list based on the over all marks secured by the petitioner in the Civil Judge examination 2018.
WP No. 27225 of 2018:- Petition filed under Article 226 of The Constitution of India praying to issue a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus to call for the records in proceedings nil in respect of the Registration No.170002242, dated 05.10.2018, on the file of the second respondent and quash the same as illegal, incompetent and without jurisdiction and further direct the second respondent to declare the result of the petitioner.
WP No. 5397 of 2019:- Petition filed under Article 226 of The Constitution of India praying to issue a Writ of Mandamus directing the respondents to issue "Person Studied in Tamil Medium (PSTM) Certificate" to the petitioner within a fixed time frame by considering the petitioner's representation dated 14.01.2019.
WP No. 27127 of 2018 For Petitioner : Mr. A. Tamilarasan For Respondents : Mr. S.R. Rajagopal Additional Advocate General VI assisted by Mr. V. Shanmuga Sundar Special Government Pleader for RR1 and 5 Mr. V.T. Gopalan, Senior Advocate for Ms. C.N.G. Niraimathi for R2 Mr. V. Kadhirvelu Special Government Pleader for R3 Mr. B. Vijay for R4 Mr. V. Vasantha Kumar for R6 WP No. 27156 of 2018 For Petitioner : Mr. P. Vijendran For Respondents : Mr. V.T. Gopalan, Senior Advocate for Ms. C.N.G. Niraimathi for R1 Mr. V. Kadhirvelu Special Government Pleader for R2 Mr. B. Vijay for R3 Mr. S.R. Rajagopal Additional Advocate General VI assisted by Mr. V. Shanmuga Sundar Special Government Pleader for R4 Mr. V. Vasantha Kumar for R5 WP No. 27225 of 2018 For Petitioner : Mr. V. Raghavachari For Respondents : Mr. S.R. Rajagopal Additional Advocate General VI assisted by Mr. V. Shanmuga Sundar Special Government Pleader for RR1 and 5 Mr. V.T. Gopalan, Senior Advocate for Ms. C.N.G. Niraimathi for R2 Mr. V. Kadhirvelu Special Government Pleader for R3 Mr. B. Vijay for R4 Mr. V. Vasantha Kumar for R6 WP No. 5397 of 2019 For Petitioner : Mr. D.R. Arun Kumar For Respondents : Mr. V. Kathirvelu Special Government Pleader
COMMON ORDER
R. SUBBIAH, J
Pursuant to the order dated 27.02.2019 passed by the Division Bench of this Court, allowing the aforesaid Writ Petitions, inter alia referring certain questions for consideration for an authoritative pronouncement, the Honourable Chief Justice has constituted this Full Bench for considering the below mentioned issues referred to therein:-
"(i) Whether studied the Course in Tamil and having written University examinations in Tamil language will qualify the candidate for claiming reservation against Persons Studied in Tamil Medium (PSTM)?
(II) In the absence of Tamil Medium of Instructions in the Colleges, whether the candidates studied the Courses in Tamil, or having written examinations in Tamil can be placed on par with PSTM Candidates for the purpose of claiming reservation earmarked for PSTM?
(iii) Whether the Tamil Medium of Instruction is in vogue and is available in law colleges run by the State Universities and if available, from what period the courses have been commenced in Tamil Medium and whether the same has been continuing uninterruptedly upto which period? If Tamil Medium of Instruction is available, factually which are the Law Colleges run by the State Universities conducting the Law Course in Tamil as Medium of Instruction?"
2. For the purpose of answering this reference, the factual background, based on which the writ petitions have been filed, has to be examined.
3. The Petitioner in WP No. 27127 of 2018 had completed his schooling during March 1996 and acquired a degree in B.Sc., Chemistry. Thereafter, he passed Degree of Bachelor of Law during May 2007 and enrolled his name as Advocate in the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on 07.12.2007. While so, by notification No. 8 of 2018 dated 09.04.2018, the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (in short Commission) invited applications to fill up 320 vacancies to the post of Civil Judge. Pursuant to such notification, the petitioner submitted his application on 03.05.2018. The petitioner had come out successfully in both the Preliminary and main examination and he was called for an interview on 03.10.2018. At the time of interview, after verifying the testimonials submitted by him, the petitioner was called upon to give an undertaking to the effect that he is not claiming any benefit under "Persons Studied in Tamil Medium" (in short PSTM) and the petitioner has also given such an undertaking. It is the specific assertion of the petitioner that he is not claiming any benefit as PSTM candidate. However, since the petitioner had written his degree examinations in Tamil and also filled up the applications for selection to the post of Civil Judge in Tamil, the second respondent had misunderstood as if the petitioner is laying a claim for selection to the post of Civil Judge under PSTM category, but the fact remains that the petitioner is seeking his selection only on the basis of the communal category to which he belongs to namely Schedule Caste.
4. The case of the petitioner in WP No. 27156 of 2018, as could be inferred from the affidavit filed in support of the writ petition is that, after completing Higher Secondary (+2), he pursued Five year law degree during the academic year 2000-2001 to 2004-2005 from Government Law College, Tirunelveli. Subsequently, he was transferred from Government Law College, Tirunelveli to Dr.Ambedkar Government Law College, Chennai and studied in Tamil Medium for the academic years 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04 i.e., for the second to fourth year, however, due to specialisation on the subject in the fifth year (Criminology), he switched over to English medium at Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, Chennai. After successfully passing the Law Degree, he enrolled as an Advocate on 29.03.2006 and was practising as an advocate. While so, in response to the notification issued by the Commission, he had submitted his application for selection and appointment to the post of Civil Judge. The petitioner also successfully
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