COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) is set to submit a report to the state government for necessary instructions in order to take further action in the dismissal of 54 illegally appointed junior assistants. The move comes after the Supreme Court dismissed the appeals filed by a few individuals on Tuesday.
The apex court upheld the Madras High Court's order quashing the appointment of 54 junior assistants recruited by the CCMC in 2021, ruling that the appointments were illegal and directing the civic body to terminate their services immediately.
The recruitment was carried out during the AIADMK regime when S P Velumani was the minister for municipal administration. A total of 654 candidates had applied for the posts, of whom 440 were called for certificate verification and interviews. Subsequently, 54 candidates were appointed as junior assistants.
The recruitment came under legal scrutiny after Easwari, a sanitary worker appointed on compassionate grounds in 2016, along with several others, challenged the selection process. They contended that the recruitment notification was not adequately publicised, preventing eligible candidates from applying. They also alleged that the appointments violated recruitment norms and reservation rules.
While a single judge of the HC had initially dismissed the petitions, a division bench comprising justices S M Subramaniam and Senthilkumar later set aside the appointments. The bench observed that the recruitment had been made through a "backdoor entry", bypassing established selection procedures and directed that departmental action be initiated against officials responsible for the irregularities.
The affected appointees challenged the verdict before the SC. However, a bench led by Justice Viswanathan dismissed the appeal on Tuesday, affirmed the HC's findings, declared the appointments illegal and ordered the immediate termination of all 54 junior assistants.
Speaking to TNIE, CCMC commissioner Katta Ravi Teja said, "After the Madras HC verdict, we had sought a legal opinion and awaited instructions from the Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA). In the meantime, a few of them had filed an appeal in the SC. Following its dismissal of the appeal, we will submit a report to the state government and take further action based on the instructions issued regarding the implementation of the court order."
