V. SARUMATHI Vs. CHIEF ENGINEER AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The prayer in the writ petition is to issue a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, to call for the records of the 3rd respondent in Letter No.A/4345/2012 dated 14.05.2015 and quash the same as illegal and consequently directing the respondents to pass appropriate order for approving the Master of Engineering (Structural) Degree studied by the petitioner during 2011-2014.

(2.) Learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that the petitioner was appointed as Assistant Soil Conservation Officer on 28.05.1998 and thereafter in 2008, she was promoted as Assistant Engineer and her services were regularised in the said post by the order dated 24.12.2009 passed by the 1st respondent. While so, she was sent to the office of the Government Press, Madurai, on 26.05.2008 on deputation basis. She submitted an application on 30.05.2011 to the 1st respondent through the Deputy Works Manager, Government Press, Madurai, seeking permission to study Master of Engineering in part time course and the Deputy Works Manager had endorsed in the petitioner's application as permission granted. In the meanwhile, the petitioner was relieved from the office of the Deputy Works Manager, Government Press, Madurai, on 13.06.2011 and posted in the parent department on 15.06.2011. On 17.06.2011, the Deputy Works Manager, Government Press, returned the above application of the petitioner on account of her relieving to the parent department and the same was informed to the petitioner only on 05.08.2011. Since the University did not start the classes, the petitioner submitted another application to the 1st respondent on the same day through proper channel.

(3.) It is further submitted that the 1st respondent by letter dated 16.11.2011 raised question in connection with her application dated 05.08.2011 submitted before him stating that whether it is necessary to consider her application, as the last date for sending the application was expired on 10.06.2011 and the petitioner submitted his explanation dated 04.01.2012 stating that since she was sent back to the parent department, her application was returned by the Deputy Manager, Government Press, on 17.06.2011 and thereafter she submitted the present application to the 1st respondent through proper channel as the classes commenced only on 17.08.2011. Thereafter, the 1st respondent by letter dated 26.07.2012 directed the petitioner to produce the copy of the application dated 30.05.2011 submitted to the Deputy Works Manager, Government Press, Madurai, and the petitioner produced the said application and also the permission letter of the Deputy Works Manager for studying M.E Structural. The petitioner gave a reply stating that only due to the fault of the Deputy Manager in keeping her application pending instead of forwarding it to the 1 st respondent in time and communicating the return of her application only on 05.08.2011, she had to file the present application on the same day. But the 1st respondent did not pass any order and during the pendency of her application, the petitioner completed the course in May 2014 and thereafter, she preferred representations one after another to the 1st respondent through proper channel for approving her master degree.