Bench dismisses writ petitions challenging service norms
MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has dismissed a batch of writ petitions challenging the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes Welfare Sub-ordinate Service Rules which do not provide for promoting an elementary school headmaster/headmistress to the post of supervisor of schools.
Justice K. Chandru said that it was up to the Government to amend the rules and not for the courts to decide the issue. Besides, non inclusion of headmasters/headmistress in the feeder category for the post of supervisor could not be a ground to declare the Rules as invalid and ultra vires of the Constitution, he said.
The petitioners had relied upon a letter by the Director of Most Backward Classes and Denotified Tribes to the Special Tahsildar, Kallar Reclamation, Madurai, on September 23, 1998 wherein the former recommended that headmasters/headmistress could also be considered for filling up the posts of supervisors.
Changed circumstances
To this, the judge said that the Director had made the recommendations in view of the fact that the post of headmaster/headmistress did not carry any special pay before June 1, 1998. But now that the post carried a special pay, it could not be compared with other posts which were among the feeder category for appointing supervisors of schools.
Cannot interfere
In any event, the court could not interfere in such issues unless the recommendations made by the Director resulted in an amendment to the rules.
The Supreme Court in Bandalal Versus Union of India (1993) held that Service Rules could be struck down only on the ground of violation of Article 14 (equality before law) or 16 (equality of opportunity in matters of public employment) of the Constitution and not because the courts considered them to be unreasonable, the judge said.
Printer friendly
page Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
