High Court Mandates Inquiry into TRB’s Non-compliance
The Madras High Court recently mandated an investigation into the conduct of Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB) officials for disregarding a Supreme Court directive regarding the filling of reserved-category backlog vacancies. This directive stemmed from the case Teachers Recruitment Board v. C Vijayalakshmi and connected cases. Justices SM Subramaniam and Krishnaswamy Govindarajan, presiding over the matter, instructed the TRB Chairperson to identify the officials responsible for not implementing the Supreme Court’s decision in State of Tamil Nadu v. K Shobana. The court further suggested that disciplinary proceedings be initiated if deemed necessary.
Non-compliance with Supreme Court Ruling
The controversy arose from a 2021 notification by the TRB for recruiting postgraduate assistant teachers in Economics. Initially, candidates were included in a provisional selection list released on September 14, 2022, but were later removed in a revised list issued on October 13, 2022. The affected candidates contested this revision, claiming that the TRB had wrongly applied Section 27(f) of the Tamil Nadu Government Servants (Conditions of Service) Act, 2016, which pertains to the reservation and handling of backlog vacancies.
Supreme Court’s Clarification in Shobana Case
The Supreme Court in K Shobana had clarified that candidates from reserved categories who qualify on their own merit should be placed in General Turn vacancies and not adjusted against reserved backlog vacancies. The Court emphasized that backlog vacancies should be addressed before current reserved vacancies but not at the expense of the General Turn merit list. Thus, reservation provisions come into play only after all merit-based selections are made.
TRB’s Admission and High Court’s Response
Before the High Court, the TRB conceded that it had not adhered to the Shobana ruling while drafting the second provisional list. The Board argued that it had applied the decision solely for earlier recruitments. Additionally, the TRB referenced a Madras High Court judgment in J Sheena v. Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission, delivered in February 2024, as justification for not applying it to the 2022 list.
However, the Bench dismissed this argument, emphasizing that the Supreme Court’s interpretation of Section 27(f) was already established when both provisional lists were published. The Court stated, “On the date of publication of the first provisional list, the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court was very much in force, and having knowledge about the judgment, the Teachers Recruitment Board intentionally failed in its duty to implement the judgment.”
Cancellation and Reissuance of Selection List
The High Court consequently annulled the second provisional selection list dated October 13, 2022. It ordered the TRB to reissue the list, strictly adhering to the principles established in Shobana and reiterated in J Sheena. The revised list should guide the appointment process, which must be concluded within six weeks.
Legal representation included Standing Counsel C Kathiravan for the TRB, Advocates NRR Arun Natarajan and Selvi Rajesh for the candidates, and Special Government Pleader AR Suresh for the State authorities.
