Promotions by transfer from Lab Assistant to Junior Assistant are protected when an employee has held the promotional post for a decade, and such tenure cannot be disturbed retrospectively by identical pay scale structures, especially under government-mandated rule relaxations.

(Judgment of the Court was delivered by R.SURESH KUMAR, J.)

This intra-Court appeal has been directed against the order dated

06.02.2024 made in W.P.No.16966 of 2023.

2. The respondent one Gowrinathan was initially appointed as Office Assistant, thereafter promoted to the post of Lab Assistant. His service was regularised in the cadre of Lab Assistant and his probation has also subsequently been declared.

3. From the post of Lab Assistant, he was posted to the post of Junior Assistant through recruitment by transfer in the year 2015 and his service had been regularised even in the cadre of Junior Assistant. However, his probation was not declared subsequently and he has successfully completed ten years of service in the post of Junior Assistant. Therefore, he deemed to have been completed his probation. However, as per Rule 3(g) of the Tamil Nadu Ministerial Service Rules, the recruitment by transfer from the post of Lab Assistant to the post of Junior Assistant is not permissible so long as both posts carry an identical scale of pay.

4. Therefore, the reversion order has been passed by the fourth appellant herein, i.e., Chief Educational Officer on 24.05.2023, thereby the respondent / writ petitioner had been reverted from the post of Junior Assistant to the post of Lab Assistant, that was challenged before the writ Court.

5. The writ Court having considered the Rule position as well as the factual position and by taking into account of G.O.(Ms)No.63, Finance Department, dated 26.02.2011 whereby it was introduced the identical scale of pay for both posts, i.e., Lab Assistant and Junior Assistant and also taking into account of G.O.1(D)No.124, School Education Department dated 15.09.2020 whereby the Rule has been relaxed by exercising the power conferred under Section 58 of Tamil Nadu Government Servant (Conditions of Service) Act, 2016, thereby all were allowed to continue in the post of Junior Assistant, has come to the conclusion that such benefit ought to have been extended to the respondent / writ petitioner also as he was holding the post of Junior Assistant for more than one decade even though the feeder category and promoted category carried the same scale of pay vide G.O.(Ms)No.63 dated 26.02.2011, accordingly the impugned order before the writ Court reverting him from Junior Assistant to Lab Assistant was set aside.

6. Aggrieved over the said order passed by the writ Court, supporting the present appeal, Mr.R.Neelakandan, learned Additional Advocate General appearing for the appellants would submit that, thought this appeal had been filed challenging the correctness of the order passed by the writ Court which is impugned herein, he was fair enough to bring it to the notice of this Court that subsequently, the Division Bench of the Madurai Bench of this Court passed orders in a batch of writ appeals in W.A.(MD)Nos.1801 of 2025 etc., batch dated 13.08.2025 which has been followed by yet another Division Bench of the Madurai Bench of this Court in a recent judgment in W.A.(MD)No.429 of 2026 dated 26.03.2026 whereby the very same issue had been considered and both the Division Benches have decided the respective writ appeals in favour of the individual employees whereby the retention of the Junior Assistant shall continue, that too, on the basis of G.O.1(D)No.124, School Education Department dated 15.09.2020.

7. The learned Additional Advocate General would also submit that, though the writ Court in the present impugned order has followed the earlier order passed in W.P.No.13849 of 2020 dated 05.02.2021, as against the very said order, intra-Court appeal has b