: Madras High Court bench has ruled that priority given to certain categories during recruitment cannot be treated as reservation and set aside the Sivaganga District Education officer's order, cancelling appointment of a woman graduate Assistant teacher selected under priority.
Allowing a petition by K Geetha, appointed in Keelakottai Panchayat union school in Sivaganga district, Justice S Nagamuthu said the action of the Member secretary of the Teachers' Recruitment Board, validating cancellation of the appointment, could not be appreciated.
The judge said when two people are equally placed in the priority category, the one who falls within this category will be selected. Though the petitioner was not sponsored under priority category, but under General Category,she had produced certificates showing she is entitled for priority as an Ex-serviceman's daughter.
"This was rightly considered and the petitioner was selected and appointed."
The Judge said the cancellation order will only reflect that the TRB had treated the priority as a reservation, which was not correct. The petitioner's appointment could not be stated to be illegal or erroneous and therefore the impunged order is being set aside, he said.
As cancellation of appointment had already been stayed, the judge directed the officials concerned to regularise her service during the interregnum period.
The Member secretary contended that Geetha was among the candidates sponsored by the District employment exchange for the post of PG assistant and the certificate verificaiton was conducted by the board, which she had attended and 'inadvertently' provisionally been selected.
The Sivaganga District Elementary Education officer during certificate verification found that the priority certificates was not registered in the employment exchange. So she was not eligible for appointment, he said.
