Madras High Court
The Director General Of Police vs P.Jeyasundar on 26 October, 2021
W.A.(MD)No.1706 of 2021
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
DATED : 26.10.2021
CORAM :
THE HON'BLE MR.SANJIB BANERJEE, THE CHIEF JUSTICE
AND
THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE M.DURAISWAMY
W.A.(MD)No.1706 of 2021
and
C.M.P.(MD)No.7288 of 2021
1.The Director General of Police,
The Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services
Recruitment Board,
Old Commissioner of Police Office Campus,
Pantheon Road, Egmore,
Chennai – 600 008.
2.The Member Secretary,
The Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services
Recruitment Board,
Old Commissioner of Police Office Campus,
Pantheon Road, Egmore,
Chennai – 600 008. .. Appellants
Vs.
P.Jeyasundar ..Respondent
Page 1 of 7
https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis/
W.A.(MD)No.1706 of 2021
PRAYER: Appeal under Clause 15 of Letters Patent against the order dated
17.06.2021 passed by the this Court in W.P.(MD)No.19388 of 2020.
For Appellants : Mr.Veera Kathiravan,
Additional Advocate General
assisted by Mr.P.Thilakkumar
Govt. Pleader
For Respondent : Mr.T.Lajapathi Roy
for Mr.V.Angusamy
JUDGMENT
[Judgment of the Court was delivered by
The Hon'ble CHIEF JUSTICE.]
The appeal is directed against an order dated June 17, 2021 passed on
a writ petition by which the writ petitioner has been permitted to undergo a
further physical examination to assess his physical ability despite the
recruitment process having been completed, according to the appellants, in
April, 2021 and the training camp for the recruited personnel having already
commenced.
2. The case made out by the writ petitioner was that since the writ
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W.A.(MD)No.1706 of 2021
petitioner was engaged in COVID-19 protection duty and he had been
infected, he had to take treatment from October 17, 2021 to October 23,
2021 in a Government Hospital. However, what is of relevance is that the
indisposition of the petitioner did not lead to the petitioner missing the
physical ability test. Indeed, the physical fitness test was convened on
October 13, 2020, prior to the petitioner obtaining treatment for being
infected with COVID. At such physical fitness test, the petitioner
participated and obtained two stars in rope-climbing and long jump but
obtained one star in the running race and was, thus, not selected.
3. Apart from the fact that the physical ability test was prior to the
period when the petitioner was affected by the virus, the principle on which
the order is founded cannot be accepted. Merely because a particular person
feels to be under the weather or otherwise not upto the mark on a particular
day when the test is scheduled, it does not imply that such person has to be
afforded a further opportunity to take the test at his convenience.
Recruitment processes will go completely awry if such a practice were to be
encouraged.
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W.A.(MD)No.1706 of 2021
4. The petitioner participated in the process without any reservation
and failed to make the mark. The fact that four days later the petitioner was
discovered to have contracted the disease is no ground for any discretion to
be exercised in favour of the petitioner and a special test required to be
conducted at a time when the recruitment process has already been
concluded.
5. The writ petitioner submits that there are other instances where
similar considerations had been shown to persons, who may not have fared
well in the physical ability test. As a matter of principle, it cannot be
accepted as a legal proposition that merely because a person was unable to
perform upto his expectations on the date that the physical ability test was
scheduled, such person has to be afforded a subsequent opportunity to
demonstrate his physical ability or the extent of his fitness. Further, since
Article 14 of the Constitution does not operate in a negative sense, if a few
persons have been erroneously conferred a benefit that they may not have
been entitled to, the same cannot be cited as an instance to perpetuate the
wrong.
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W.A.(MD)No.1706 of 2021
6.For the reasons aforesaid, the judgment and order dated June 17,
2021 cannot be sustained and the same is set aside. W.P.(MD)No.19388 of
2020 is dismissed.
7. W.A.(MD)No.1706 of 2021 is allowed as above. However, there
will be no order as to costs. Consequently, C.M.P.(MD)No.7288 of 2021 is
closed.
(S.B., CJ.) (M.D., J.)
26.10.2021
Index : Yes/No
Internet : Yes/No
vsm/ps
Note : In view of the present lock
down owing to COVID-19 pandemic,
a web copy of the order may be
utilized for official purposes, but,
ensuring that the copy of the order
that is presented is the correct
copy, shall be the responsibility of
the advocate/litigant concerned.
To
1.The Director General of Police,
The Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services
Recruitment Board,
Old Commissioner of Police Office Campus,
https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis/
W.A.(MD)No.1706 of 2021
Pantheon Road, Egmore,
Chennai – 600 008.
2.The Member Secretary,
The Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services
Recruitment Board,
Old Commissioner of Police Office Campus,
Pantheon Road, Egmore,
Chennai – 600 008.
https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis/
W.A.(MD)No.1706 of 2021
THE HON'BLE CHIEF JUSTICE
and
M.DURAISWAMY, J.
vsm/ps
W.A.(MD)No.1706 of 2021
26.10.2021
https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis/
