Madras High Court
S. Jamil Fathima vs The Teachers Recruitment Board on 19 September, 2022
W.P(MD)No.19161 of 2015
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
DATED : 19.09.2022
CORAM
THE HONOURABLE MRS.JUSTICE S.SRIMATHY
W.P(MD).No.19161 of 2015
and
M.P(MD).Nos.1 and 2 of 2015
S. Jamil Fathima,
: Petitioner
Vs
1. The Teachers Recruitment Board,
Rep. by its Chairman,
College Road,
Chennai 600 006.
2. The Director of School Education,
College Road,
Chennai 600 006
: Respondents
Prayer : Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India,
praying this Court to issue a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus calling for the
records pertaining to the order of non selection published by the 1st
respondent dated NIL and quash the same, and direct the respondents to
appoint the petitioner as P.G.Assistant, Physics under B.C. Muslim Category
1/10
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W.P(MD)No.19161 of 2015
for the recruitment year 2012 with all consequential benefits.
For Petitioner : Mr.V.Panneerselvam
For R1 : Mr.V.R.Shanmuganathan
For R2 : Mr.D.Farjana Ghoushia
Special Government Pleader
ORDER
This writ petition had been filed for writ of Certiorarified Mandamus,
to quash the order of non selection published by the 1st respondent dated NIL
and direct the respondents to appoint the petitioner as P.G. Assistant, Physics
under B.C. Muslim Category for the recruitment year 2012 with all
consequential benefits .
2. The brief facts as stated in the affidavit are that the petitioner passed
tenth standard in March 2001, twelfth standard in March 2003, B.Sc. Physics
in the year 2006 from Gandhi Gram Rural University, B.Ed. in April 2006 in
Gandhigram Rural University. Thereafter, the petitioner joined M.Sc. Physics
in Madurai Kamaraj University in May 2007. The first year examination was
conducted in November 2007 and the second year examination was conducted
in November 2008. Then, the results were published on 24.03.2009 wherein
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W.P(MD)No.19161 of 2015
the petitioner had passed the M.Sc. Physics.
3. The contention of the petitioner is that she is fully qualified for the
post of P.G. Assistant and hence she had participated in the examination
conducted by the Teachers Recruitment Board for the post of P.G. Assistant
Physics. The registration number of the petitioner is No.12PG04080028 and
the petitioner has secured 96 marks and for the employment seniority, she was
granted one mark and totally she is having 97 marks. The petitioner belongs
to Backward Class Muslim and she was selected under the said category.
Thereafter, for the purpose of issuance of appointment order, the respondents
conducted certificate verification on 31.10.2012 and the petitioner had
participated in the said certificate verification. The respondents had fixed the
cut off mark for the post of P.G. Assistant Physics for B.C.M as 92 and the
date of birth 06.02.1986. The petitioner's date of birth is 07.12.1985 and she
had secured 97 marks. The respondents published the result in the website and
it showed that the petitioner was not selected on the ground that the petitioner
had studied M.Sc. and B.Ed. in the same year. But the petitioner contended
that she had studied in different calendar year and hence the rejection made by
the respondents is not sustainable. Hence, the present writ petition has been
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W.P(MD)No.19161 of 2015
filed.
4.The first respondent filed a counter stating that the petitioner applied
for the post of P.G. Assistant English in pursuant to the Advertisement No.
2/2012, dated 28.02.2012. On scrutiny of the records/certificates, it is seen
that the petitioner had completed two degrees i.e., M.Sc. Physics and B.Ed.
simultaneously in the same year. The Government of Tamil Nadu had
prescribed the qualification for the Post Graduate vide G.O.Ms.No.720
Higher Secondary Department, dated 28.04.1981 and as amended in G.O.No.
361, School Education Department, dated 31.12.1999, the Teachers
Recruitment Board have been instructed to adopt the qualification
incorporated in the said G.Os'. The qualification prescribed in the said
notification is that the candidate should possess M.A./M.Sc./M.Com. in the
relevant subject with B.Ed. Degree and Master Degree, both for the academic
subject and languages. All degrees should be from UGC/NCTE recognised
Universities only. In addition to the above qualification, those who underwent
the course of study under the pattern of study as per G.O.107 School
Education Department, dated 18.08.2009 and as per G.O.242 Higher
Educated, dated 18.12.2012 are eligible to be appointed as Teacher. The
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W.P(MD)No.19161 of 2015
pattern of study to be treated as eligible as per the above G.Os' are as follows:
10+2+3+1+2, 10+2+3+2+1, 10+3+3+1+2, 10+3+3+2+1,
11+1+31+2, 11+1+3+2+1
5. The Registrar, University of Madras in his letter vide No. ERC /
Evaluation - Dual Degrees/2011 - 051, dated 12.01.2011, addressed to the
Chairman, Teachers Recruitment Board, wherein it is stated that the
undergraduate degree and B.Ed. in the same academic year by undergoing the
course through Open university and regular course from different universities
have not been recognized so far. Further, the Chairman has informed that the
U.G. Degree and B.Ed. cannot be obtained by the candidates in the same
academic year. In the present case, the petitioner has undergone M.Sc. Physics
and B.Ed. in the same academic year i.e., 2007-2008. Therefore, the
petitioner is not eligible for consideration. Therefore, the respondents prayed
to dismiss this petition.
6. Heard Mr.V.Panneerselvam the learned Counsel appearing for the
petitioner and Mr.V.R.Shanmuganathan, the learned Counsel appearing for the
first respondent and Mrs.D.Farjana Ghoushia the learned Special Government
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W.P(MD)No.19161 of 2015
Pleader appearing for the second respondent.
7. The contention of the respondents for rejecting the petitioner's
candidature is that she has obtained M.Sc. and B.Ed. degrees in the same year
i.e., 2007-2008, i.e. the overlapping degree cannot be considered for issuing
appointment order. However, the learned Counsel appearing for the petitioner
submitted that the petitioner had completed B.Sc. Physics in the year 2006,
B.Ed. in April 2007 and the petitioner joined M.Sc. Physics in Madurai
Kamaraj University in May 2007. Since the petitioner was enrolled as a
student in May 2007 calendar year, the petitioner was allowed to write the
examination, which was conducted in November 2007 and hence, the
contention of the petitioner is that there is no overlapping at all. The Madurai
Kamaraj University and other Universities follow the calendar year /
academic year for admission for the year 2007-2008. The calendar year would
be from January 2007 onwards and the academic year is from June 2007
onwards. Therefore, the university admitted the students from January 2007 to
July 2007. If the students strength is less in number, then the university
would seek permission from the appropriate authority for extending the time
to admit students. In certain cases, time was granted until October. However,
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W.P(MD)No.19161 of 2015
for the academic year starting from January, the classes would be conducted
and the examination will be held in November or December. In the present
case, the first year examination was conducted in November 2007 and the
petitioner had participated in the examination and passed the exam. Therefore,
the respondents are incorrect in stating that the petitioner has completed both
B.Ed. and M.Sc. Physics degrees in the same year. At the cost of repetition,
the petitioner submitted that the petitioner has completed B.Ed. degree in
April 2007 itself, admission for M.Sc. Physis in May 2007 then completed the
course of M.Sc. Physis in November 2007. Therefore, this Court is of the
considered opinion that if the practice is followed by the Madurai Kamaraj
University and other universities by considering the calendar year and
academic year, the students cannot suffer. Since there is no overlapping, the
first respondent is directed to consider the petitioner's candidature and issue a
revised list by including the petitioner's name. Thereafter, the second
respondent is directed to issue the appointment order. It is made clear that the
petitioner would be considered for all benefits from the date of the
appointment order and she cannot claim any monetary and service benefits
from the year, the batch had been recruited.
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W.P(MD)No.19161 of 2015
8. Before parting with this judgment, this Court is of the considered
opinion there is no comprehensiveness between the university and the
recruiting agency. Either the recruiting agency should follow the university's
pattern or the universities should follow the recruiting agency's pattern. The
universities and the recruiting agency should come up with a solution to
address this issue. This issue is recurring and this Court had seen atleast four
such petitions.
9. The learned Counsel appearing for the petitioner as well as the TRB
submitted that the calendar year ought to be fixed until May of every year and
thereafter, it should be considered as academic year and the enrolment cannot
go beyond the month of July, at the most until August. If it is going beyond
August, then the candidates enrolled will study the first year only for two
months. It is a settled principle that the master degree should be completed in
two years i.e., two full years. If this practice is followed, the first year will be
completed within two months, then it is against the Article 14 of our
Constitution, where the regular candidates will be undergoing atleast ten
months of the course, but the distance education candidate completes it within
two/three months. Therefore, this Court directs the Teachers Recruitment
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W.P(MD)No.19161 of 2015
Board, Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission and the Universities to come
up with clear guidelines for recruiting the candidates and for considering the
candidates for appointment.
10.With the above directions, this writ petition stands allowed. No
costs. Consequently, connected miscellaneous petitions are closed.
19.09.2022
Index : Yes / No
Internet : Yes/ No
lr
To
1. The Teachers Recruitment Board,
Rep. by its Chairman,
College Road,
Chennai 600 006.
2. The Director of School Education,
College Road,
Chennai 600 006
https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis
W.P(MD)No.19161 of 2015
S.SRIMATHY, J.
lr
W.P(MD).No.19161 of 2015
19.09.2022
https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis
