G VENKATESAN Vs. VICE CHANCELLOR MADRAS UNIVERSITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner has filed the present writ petition seeking issuance of writ of mandamus forbearing the respondents herein from in any way proceeding further with the filling up of the posts of Professors, Readers and Lecturers in various Departments of the second respondent University, on the ground that the petitioner though belongs to backward community, is fully qualified to apply for the post of Lecturer in Tamil Literature and Language.

(2.) LEARNED counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner is unable to apply for the post of Lecturer in Tamil Literature, as the same has been exclusively reserved for SC/ST. Therefore, he contended that the University of Madras has no jurisdiction to apply the rule of reservation when there is only one vacancy in a post, which is sought to be filled up. He further argued that no reservation can be made under Article 16(4) of the Constitution of India, so as to create a monopoly. In as much as if there is only one post in a cadre, there can be no reservation with reference to that post either for recruitment at the initial stage or for filling up a future vacancy in respect of that post. Since the reservation, according to him, which would come under Article 16(4), pre-supposes the availability of at least more than one post in that cadre, in the present case, it is seen from the advertisement that the respondent is going to fill up one post by applying the rule of reservation, therefore, he pleaded for a direction to the respondents as prayed for.

(3.) THE present writ petition has been filed on the premise that the cadre strength in respect of Madras University for Lecturer in the Department of Tamil Literature is only one post. But, the counter filed by the respondents shows that the department of Tamil Literature in the University of Madras has got two posts and for which, one post has already been filled up in the year 2002 and for the remaining post alone, the respondents have given an advertisement by applying the Rule of Reservation and therefore, this would obviously go to SC/ST candidate as per the communal roster, since they have already filled up one post from General Turn category in the year 2002.