B MUTHUKRISHNAN Vs. DISTRICT COLLECTOR PERAMBALUR DISTRICT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN both the writ petitions as common relief has been sought for and common question of law involved, they were heard together and disposed of by this common judgment.

(2.) THE petitioners were in the service of the State in its Highways Department. THE petitioner, Govindaraj was appointed on regular basis on compassionate grounds as Office Assistant in the Highways Department, Perambalur, where he joined service on 16th March, 1995. Similarly, the other petitioner, Muthukrishnan was also appointed on regular basis on compassionate grounds in the Highways Department, Perambalur and joined on 20th Oct., 1995. THEy were declared surplus by the Highways Department, by order dated 26th July, 2006, but they were not disturbed and, later on, by order dated 6th Feb., 2008, they were transferred under the Principal District Judge, Perambalur, in view of order dated 26th July, 2006. THE grievance of the petitioner is that the respondent, District Collector, passed the order of transfer on 6th Feb., 2008 without noticing that there were posts under Divisional Engineer, Highways, Ariyalur, to accommodate them and they were not excess to the strength for transferring them to other Department.

(3.) IN fact, similar matter fell for consideration before this Court from time to time wherein this Court, having noticed G.O. Ms. Nos745 and 746, both dated 22nd Sept., 1995 in and by which the State Government made provisions for allotment of surplus Office Assistants working in various Government Offices in the Districts to other departments. The Court held that the same has no relevancy with the Mouffsil Courts in the light of the rules applicable to the Mouffsil Courts. Under the Tamil Nadu State Subordinate Service Rules, for appointment against ministerial staff, names are to be called for from the employment exchange. Appointment can be made only by direct recruitment or by transfer from other departments within the same Mouffsil Court or from other Mouffsil courts. Thus, according to us, there was no occasion for the District Collector, Perambalur, to forward the list of surplus Office Assistants, including the petitioners to the Principal District Judge, Perambalur, for their appointment. However, their appointments by transfer under the Principal District Judge, Perambalur, being not under challenge, we are not declaring the same illegal in the present case.