(1.) THE first respondent herein has applied for the post of Senior Clerks, Group 'C' services, pursuant to the notification issued by the third petitioner/Railway Recruitment Board in the year 2005 and got selected under the ST quota. By letter dated 11.3.2006, he was called for verification of certificates with a condition that he should produce caste certificate in the enclosed prescribed format. Accordingly, he appeared for certificates verification on 28.3.2006 and submitted all the certificates including the community certificate dated 24.7.1993 in a permanent card format issued by the Government of Tamil Nadu. However, the fourth petitioner herein, by letter dated 20.6.2006, has directed the first respondent/applicant to produce a new/fresh community certificate issued by the R.D.O./Deputy Collector and that too in the prescribed format. Since the explanation of the applicant/first respondent, that there is no need to insist upon new/fresh certificates as has been time and again instructed by the Government of Tamil Nadu, has not been accepted by the fourth petitioner, the applicant/first respondent requested to grant time, vide his letter dated 12.7.2006 to produce the community certificate as required. According to the applicant/first respondent, in the meanwhile, he has made vain requests with the fourth petitioner time and again to accept the community certificate produced by him. According to the first respondent/applicant, he received a letter dated 8.5.2009 from the fourth respondent stating that the panel of appointment got lapsed on 29.3.2007 and as such, his requests for appointment cannot be processed. To verify the same, he filed an application under the Right to Information Act, on 8.4.2009, for which a communication was received by him on 22.5.2009 stating that the currency of the panel for recruitment to the post of Sr.Clerk in the scale of Rs.4500-7000 notified by RRB on 29.3.2006 was for a period of one year and the panel lapsed on 29.3.2007 and there is no vacancy of Sr.Clerk at present against direct recruitment quota. THErefore, the applicant/first respondent has filed O.A.No.666 of 2009 before the Tribunal praying for a direction to the authorities/writ petitioners herein to accept the community certificate dated 24.7.1993 produced by him as valid and sufficient and issue order of appointment and other consequential and ancillary orders in favour of him for the post of Senior Clerk pursuant to the offer of appointment dated 3.4.2006 with all concomitant benefits.
(2.) SINCE the Tribunal has allowed the said Original Application, the Administration has come forward to file this writ petition.
(3.) DURING the course of arguments, Mr.V.Radhakrishnan, learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioners/Administration would argue that when the applicant was instructed to submit his community certificate in the prescribed format, he prolonged the issue to his convenience since at that point of time, he was pursuing his law course at Dr.Ambedkar Government Law College, Chennai and even though he has taken time to produce the community certificate, he never kept his promise and after the panel lapsed, he came forward to initiate the present proceedings. According to the learned senior counsel since the community certificate frauds are rampant now a days, the Administration has insisted the applicant to produce the community certificate in the prescribed format.