E RAJESWARI Vs. TAMIL NADU PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The first respondent issued Notification No.2 of 2013, calling for eligible candidates for appointment to the post of Assistant Commissioner and Executive Officer Grade-I in HR & CE Department, on 21.02.2013, for the vacancies 2011-12. The petitioner, who belongs to Scheduled Caste Community, applied in response to the Notification, for consideration of her candidature, in one of the four vacancies, for appointment to the post of Assistant Commissioner, which was earmarked for SC Category. Totally, four vacancies were notified for the post of Assistant Commissioner, HR & CE. In the written examination conducted, the petitioner participated and secured 537.50 marks. According to the petitioner, the marks secured by her was much higher than the OBC candidates participated in the examination. Above the petitioner, another Scheduled Caste candidate has secured 620 marks and therefore, he was provisionally selected for appointment and the petitioner learnt that she being the second best SC candidate, her name was put in the wait list.

(2.) The other Scheduled Caste candidate viz., Shri.A.Ramesh was provisionally selected in the vacancy 2011-12. His selection was subsequently canceled on 09.12.2015 for the reason that he has suppressed information which attracted disqualification in terms of the Notification issued by the first respondent/Commissioner. His appointment was canceled on 09.12.2015 and the said A.Ramesh had approached this Court in W.P.No.32801 of 2015 challenging the cancellation. In the said circumstances, the petitioner was under bona fide impression that she would be appointed in the vacancy ear-marked for SC candidate, as she was the first SC candidate put on the wait list.

(3.) In the meanwhile, it appears that the first respondent issued another Notification in Notification No.20 of 2013, inviting applications for appointment to the post of Assistant Commissioner for the year 2012-13, on 19.12.2013 i.e., immediately following the Notification dated 21.02.2013 for 2011-12. Infact, it appeared that both the selection processes were simultaneously conducted overlapping each other and even in that selection, the petitioner was put in the wait list as No.1 candidate. Infact, the final result of the vacancy for the year 2011-12 was only concluded in September, 2014 and on the heels of the results being published for 2011-12 in September, 2014, the results of the second Notification was also published in October, 2014. However, admittedly, the Schedule Caste vacancy for the year 2011-12 was not included in the subsequent Notification of the year 2012-13. This Court has granted interim orders while entertaining the writ petition filed by the said A.Ramesh, the SC candidate, who was selected against the 2011-12 vacancy. Ultimately, the writ petition came to be dismissed by this Court on 21.03.2018.