IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS Dated : 22.07.2009 Coram The Honourable Mrs.Justice PRABHA SRIDEVAN and The Honourable Mr.Justice C.T.SELVAM W.A.No.703 of 2008 and MP.No. 1 of 2008 1. E. Tamilmani 2. Dr. P. Viswanathan 3. R. Gunasekaran ...Appellant/Petitioners 1 to 3 -vs- 1. The State of Tamil Nadu Rep. By its Secretary to Government Higher Education Department Fort St. George Chennai – 600 009 2. The Chairman Teachers Recruitment Board EVK, Sampath Maligai 4th Floor, DPI Compound College Road Chennai – 600 006 3. The Director Directorate of Collegiate Education Chennai – 600 006 4. National Council for Teacher Education rep. By its Regional Director 1st Floor, CSD Building, HMT Post Bangalore – 560 031 5. T. Ravichandran Palavilai, Kollanchi Nelvely East, Mulankuli Post Kanyakumari – 629 162 6. Ms. Kannika Parameswari 7. S. Akila https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/ (RR-4 to 7 impleaded as per order of the court dated 05-02-2008 in M.P.No.2 of 2008) 8. Dr. K. Pazhanisamy ...Respondents /4th Petitioner Writ Appeal against the order in W.P.No.37192 of 2007 dated 17- 04-2008. Petition filed under Article 226 of constitution of India to issue a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus to call for the records of the 2nd respondent pertaining to the list of cancellation of provisionally selected candidates dated 7.12.07 published on 11.12.07 and revised list of provisionally selected candidates published on 11.12.2007 and quash the same in sojan as the inclusion of the petitioners in the cancellation list are concerned and the exclusion of their names in the revised list of provisionally selected candidates published on 11.12.2007 is concerned, and consequently direct the 2nd and 3rd respondents to select and appoint the petitioners to the post of Lecturers for Government Arts & Science Colelges and Colleges of Education in accordance with the list of candidates provisionally selected for appointment to the post of Lecturers for Government Arts & Science Colleges and Colleges of Education dated 19.11.2007. For Appellant : Mrs. Nalini Chidambaram, SC for Mr.Arun Natarajan For Respondents: Mr.G. Sankaran, Spl.G.P.(Edn) for RR1 to 3 Mr.K. Ramakrishna Reddy for R4 Mr. R.N. Amarnath for R6 & R7 JUDGMENT (The Judgement of the Court was delivered by PRABHA SRIDEVAN,J) The issue to be considered in this writ appeal is the construction of words "in the concerned subject" contained in the notification issued by the Teachers' Recruitment Board and Director of collegiate Education for direct recruitment of lecturers for Government Arts and Science Colleges and Colleges of Education. 2. Originally, the University Grants Commission had prescribed qualification for the post of lecturers and the same was adopted as per G.O.Ms.Nos.111, 112, 113 Higher Education Department dated 24-03- 1999 which reads as follows: "i) The minimum requirements of a good academic record, 55% of the marks at the Masters Level and qualifying in the National Eligibility Test (NET) or an accredited test, shall remain for the appointment of Lecturers. ii) A relaxation of 5% may be provided from 55% to 50% of the marks, at the Mastes Level for the SC/ST categories. https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/ Iii) A relaxation of 5% may be provided from 55% to 50% of the marks to the Ph.D., degree holders who have passed their masters degree prior to 19th September, 1991." The following amendment was directed to be added under the Heading of Recruitment and qualification. "The following amendment to G.O.Ms.Nos.111, 112 and 113 Higher Education Department, dated 24.3.99 has been issued in Government Letter No.11555/H1/2006-1 dated 15.9.2006 based on the letter from the Joint Secretary, University Grants Commission, New Delhi, D.O. Letter No. F1- 1/2—2/(PS) Exemmp. Dated 14.6.2006. Amendment "NET or SLET or an accredited Test shall remain the compulsory requirement for appointment as Lecturer for those with post-graduate deree. However, the candidates having Ph.D. Degree in the concerned subject are exempted from NET or SLET or an accredited Test for PG level and UG level teaching. The candidates having M.Phil. degree in the concerned subject are exempted from NET or SLET or an accredited Test for UG level teaching only" The qualification for the post of lecturer in Colleges of Education as per NCTE norms and the relevant time are as follows: ..(i) M.Ed/M.A. (Education) with minimum 55% marks and B.Ed. OR Master's degree in a school subject with minimum 50% marks and M.Ed./M.A(Education) with 55% marks and B.Ed. Note: (i).. (ii) Apart from the qualification prescribed above for lecturer, the candidates shall have to qualify NET/SLET qualification or alternative qualifications thereto as prescribed by UGC from time to time before the commencement of the academic session 2009-2010." In the prospectus issued to the candidates serial No.4 read as follows: 6. ...a) All candidates other SC/ST: Candidates with (i) Postgraduate degree in the Subject with minimum 55% marks and (ii) a pass in the UGC/CSIR/JRF/NEt Lecturership test or State Level Educational Testing (SLET), (OR) b) For, SC/ST candidates: Candidates with (i) Postgraduate degree in the Subject with minimum 50% marks and (ii) a pass in the UGC/CSIR/JRF/NET Lecturership Test or State Level Educational Testing (SLET), (OR) https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/ Candidates with (i) Postgraduate degree in the Subject with a minimum of 50% marks and (ii) M.Phil. Or Ph.D. degree or both, are eligible to apply." 2. According to the Government, the word in the subject meant 'Education' as far as the Colleges of Education were concerned and possessing M.Phil. degree or Ph.D. in subjects other than 'Education' will not be the qualification that is required and if they had not passed M.Phil./Ph.D. in 'Education', the applicants had to pass NET or SLET otherwise they would not be qualified. 3. The learned Senior Counsel appearing for the appellant submitted that the words 'concerned subject' cannot be referred to be 'Education' and it can only be "the concerned subject" which the applicant intends to teach. Therefore, the refusal to consider them though they satisfy the criteria is not justified. It is also submitted that subsequent to the date of notification or the date of the interview, the candidates have obtained M.Phil in Education and in particular Gunasekaran(3rd appellant) had obtained the SLET qualification. The learned Senior counsel would therefore submit that in similar circumstances, the Board had appointed Lecturers who did not possess the requisite qualification but had acquired it before the commencement of the academic year and therefore, the same indulgence may be shown to the appellants herein. 4. The learned Government Pleader submitted that the appointments have been made strictly in accordance with the qualifications mentioned in the Notification and the possession of NET/SLET qualification is a must where applicants do not possess the Ph.D. degree in "the concerned subject or an M.Phil. degree in the concerned subject". They should possess the qualification on the date of application for the post and the possession of the same before the commencement of the academic session would not satisfy the criteria laid down in the Notification dated 18-09-2006. The learned Special Government Pleader also submitted that the candidates did not satisfy the eligibility criteria on the date when the appointment was considered. The objection relating to "concerned subject" must be rejected. 5. We see that the Notification was a common Notification both for Government Arts and Science Colleges and the Colleges of Education and the vacancy for lecturers are for subjects like English, Mathematics, Physics etc. and Education (Tamil), Education (English), Education (Maths), Education (Physical Science), Education (History) and Education (Geography)etc. That means the subject codes mentioned as F01 to F22 would be the concerned subject for the Government Arts and Science Colleges and the subject codes from F23 to F34 will be the concerned subject for applicants as applicable for colleges of education because the applicants are expected to be trained in educating in that subject. That is why their M.Phil or https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/ Ph.D must be in 'Education(Tamil) or Education (English)' etc. and the concerned subject should be Tamil, English or as th case may be. For clarification, the relevant column from the Notification is extracted hereunder: Direct Recruitment of Lecturers for Govt. Arts & Science Colleges and Colleges of Education (2006-07) ... 2. Scale of Pay: Rs.8000-275-13500 The Estimated Vacancies for Lecturers including backlog vacancies, are as follows: Sl. No. Sub Code Subject .. .. .. .. . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . 1 FO1 Tamil 2 FO2 English 3 FO3 Mathematics 4 FO4 Physics 5 FO5 Chemistry 6 FO6 Botany 7 FO7 Zoology 8 FO8 History 9 FO9 Geography 10 F10 Economics 11 F11 Commerce 12 F12 Home Science 13 F13 Political Science 14 F14 Statistics 15 F15 Sociology 16 F16 Geology 17 F17 Music 18 F18 Public Administration 19 F19 Electronic Science 20 F20 Computer Science 21 F21 Bio-chemistry 22 F22 Microbiology 23 F23 Education (Tamil) 24 F24 Education(English) https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/ Sl. No. Sub Code Subject .. .. .. .. . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . 25 F25 Education (Maths) 26 F26 Education(Biological Sci) 27 F27 Education(Physical Sci) 28 F28 Education (History) 29 F29 Education (Geography) 30 F30 Education (Education) 31 F31 Education (Economics) 32 F32 Education(Logic) 33 F33 Education (Computer Sci) 34 F34 Education(Home Sci) Total .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . . . . . . . 6. Next we come to the requirement of SLET or NET. We have already extracted the relevant rules and it shows that NET or SLET will remain the compulsory requirement for appointment of lecturer or if a person has a Ph.D., in the concerned subject he will be exempted from NET or SLET or an accredited test for UG level and PG level teaching. The candidates having M.Phil. Degree in the concerned subject are exempted from NET or SLET or an accredited Test for UG level teaching only. It was objected on the side of the appellants, the criteria imposed by the State is not in line with National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE in short) and that NCTE requires the qualification to be acquired only before the commencement of the academic session whereas the State insists upon the possession of NET or SLET on the date of application. The appellants possess the qualification prescribed for the post of Lecturer as per the guidelines of NCTE. NCTE has framed regulations under Section 32 of the NCTE Act, 1993 for the post of lecturer prescribing qualification which is as follows: (i) M.Ed./M.A.(Education) with minimum 55% marks and B.Ed. OR Master's degree in a school subject with minimum 50% marks and M.Ed./M.A(Education) with 55% marks and B.Ed.," (ii) Two years' school teaching experience is desirable. Note: https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/ (i) There shall be relaxation in minimum percentage of marks for SC/ST/OBC/Other categories as per the rules of the Central/concerned State Government/UT Administration. (ii) Apart from the qualification prescribed above for lecturer, the candidates shall have to qualify NET/SLET qualification or alternative qualifications thereto as prescribed by UGC from time to time before the commencement of the academic session 2009-2010." The notification of the State is in consonance with the norms as approved by the NCTE. Therefore, we see no reason to interfere with the order of the learned Single Judge. 7. The appellants would further submit that Gunasekaran, who possesses the requisite qualification may be considered for the post. The learned Special Government Pleader submits that it will not be possible to accommodate him since all the vacancies are filled up. So even if this is true, it may not be possible to fit him his year. All the appellants may make a representation giving the details of their qualification and the date on which they had acquired the same and if the respondents find that any one or all of them possess the required qualification even on that date of application then it is for the Government to consider whether the candidates shall be considered without further test for the next academic year. As far as those candidates who had acquired the qualification subsequent to the date of interview, if there is a wrong order passed in the case of certain respondents that cannot be a ground to treat others equally. The application of Article 14 of the Constitution of India will not arise in such cases. It is for the Government to consider the their cases for the next academic year. 8. The writ appeal is dismissed. However, there will be no order as to costs. The connected miscellaneous petitions are closed. Sd/ Asst.Registrar /true copy/ Sub Asst.Registrar To 1. The Secretary to Government Higher Education Department Fort St. George,Chennai – 600 009 2. The Chairman Teachers Recruitment Board EVK, Sampath Maligai 4th Floor, DPI Compound College Road,Chennai – 600 006 https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/ 3. The Director Directorate of Collegiate Education Chennai – 600 006 4. The Regional Director National Council for Teacher Education 1st Floor, CSD Building, HMT Post Bangalore – 560 031 1 cc To M/s.C.Uma, Advocate, SR.33377 1 cc To Mr.K.Ramakrishna Reddy, Advocate, SR.33986 1 cc To The Government Pleader, SR.33560 W.A.No.703 of 2008 and MP.No. 1 of 2008 KS(CO) SRA(27/08/2009) https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/