MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently directed the Tamil Nadu State Public Service Commission (TNPSC) to pay `10 lakh compensation to a woman who lost her job due to an erroneous notification issued by the commission while recruiting Assistant Section Officers in Tamil Nadu Secretariat Service in August 2022.
Justice K Kumaresh Babu gave the direction on a petition filed by K Raja Priya, who challenged the cancellation of her appointment to the aforementioned post in the Water Resources Department on May 31, 2024.
According to the petitioner’s counsel, the post is typically filled by way of transferring junior assistants or assistants in ministerial services. Priya, who had been working as a junior assistant in a sanctioned post in a government-aided school in Sivaganga, obtained a no objection certificate from the education department and applied for the post. The commission had, in the recruitment notification, mentioned the junior assistant category as eligible.
Priya received the appointment order after clearing the written examination and completing the certificate verification, and subsequently resigned from her previous role. However, a week after she had joined the foundational course training in July 2024, the commission withheld her appointment without issuing a show-cause notice. On April 25, 2025, she received an order stating that her appointment was cancelled as she did not meet the required qualifications.
The TNPSC’s counsel claimed that her previous job does not fall under the state ministerial service. Moreover, a perusal of the TN Secretariat Service Rules would indicate that recruitment by transfer to the aforesaid post could be made only from the category of assistants and not junior assistants, the counsel mentioned.
Hearing both sides, Justice Babu observed that the court can only place sympathy on the petitioner in respect of her appointment. Considering the entire mistake that had been committed by the TNPSC, the court observed she should at least be compensated monetarily, and directed the commission to pay Rs 10 lakh to the petitioner.