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Filling of court vacancies through direct recruitment not mandatory

Staff Reporter

In-house staff better equipped to hold gazetted posts, say judges

MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday ruled that it was not mandatory for the High Court to fill vacancies of court staff through direct recruitment.

Dismissing a petition filed by a lawyer here, a Division Bench comprising Justice F.M. Ibrahim Kalifulla and Justice R. Banumathi said the Madras High Court Service Rules gave an option to fill the posts either through direct recruitment or inter-departmental transfer.

Hence, the petitioner did not have any right to insist that he should also be considered for the post of Assistant Registrar, the Bench said. It was not inclined to direct the Registrar General of the Court to consider the representation made by the lawyer.

Earlier, during arguments, the Judges said in-house staff would be better equipped to hold the gazetted posts such as Registrar and Assistant Registrar because it required practical knowledge and experience to handle case bundles and place them before the court concerned for hearing. "It is not that we want to deprive the advocates of an opportunity to compete for the posts. If there is a dearth among court staff, we will certainly consider you people (lawyers). But, our own staff members are waiting in a long queue for occupying the posts," Mr. Justice Kalifulla said, adding that lawyers had numerous career avenues than court employees.

Counsel's contention

Petitioner's counsel G. Thalaimutharasu contended that the Madras High Court should follow the Bombay and Rajasthan High Courts, which permitted appointment of practising lawyers to gazetted posts. Qualified lawyers would be suitable for the posts since they required versatility in legal issues.

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