Tamil Nadu   

Court upholds State decision on age relaxation

Special Correspondent

Writ petitions filed by those who could not apply for Sub-Inspector vacancies

CHENNAI: The State Government is justified in not extending the upper age limit for Sub-Inspector aspirants by five years as there was no ban on recruitment of police personnel during the past five years, the Madras High Court has ruled.

Justice P. Jyothimani passed the order on a batch of writ petitions from candidates who could not apply for Sub-Inspector vacancies as the upper age limit was not relaxed.

Referring to the November 29, 2001 ban order, they said there was no recruitment to the police department for over four years. The general ban on recruitment was lifted only in February 2006 and the impugned order to recruit over 600 Sub-Inspectors passed on July 17, 2006. They had been deprived of their right to apply for jobs during the period and hence they were entitled to age relaxation.

Government counsel Edwin Prabakar submitted that the November 2001 ban on recruitment was not made applicable in respect of appointment of teachers, doctors and police constabulary. The current recruitment process was initiated in December 2004 but could not be completed owing to litigation and Assembly elections.

Counsel said `constabulary' included Sub-Inspectors too. Police personnel were recruited even when the job freeze was applied to other departments.

In his order, Mr. Justice Jyothimani said: "Prescription of qualification for any post is for the authorities to decide, and jurisdiction of courts to interfere is limited, unless it is patently illegal and opposed to legal norms. In respect of Government services, five years' age has been relaxed to enable unemployed youth to have an opportunity to apply for the post and that can never be compared with appointment in the police department."

No compulsion

Holding that age relaxation could not be claimed as a matter of right, Mr. Justice Jyothimani said,

"In the absence of any rule under the Police Subordinate Service Rule making it compulsory on the part of the respondents to fill vacancies every year, there cannot be a compulsion for the Government to fill the vacancies, even though there was no ban on recruitment."

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