THE STATE OF TAMIL NADU & ORS. versus K. SHOBANA ETC. ETC.

Citation: [2021] 2 S.C.R. 1164 · Decided: 05-03-2021 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: SANJAY KISHAN KAUL · Disposal: Dismissed

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Judgment (excerpt)

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SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2021] 2 S.C.R.
THE STATE OF TAMIL NADU & ORS.
v.
K. SHOBANA ETC. ETC.
(Civil Appeal Nos. 3745-3754 of 2020)
MARCH 05, 2021
[SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, DINESH MAHESHWARI AND
HRISHIKESH ROY, JJ.]
Tamil Nadu Government Servants (Conditions of Service) Act,
2016 – s.27(f) – Reservation for appointment – Manner of filling
up the seats – Direct recruitment – Post Graduate Assistants in
Chemistry – 356 posts notified wherein 117 vacancies (74 backlog
and 43 current vacancies) were available for Most Backward Class
(MBC) and Denotified Community (DNC) candidates – Provisional
selection list published – Meritorious candidates under the MBC
quota were appointed in the MBC/DNC quota against the backlog
vacancies – Challenged by respondents, by filing writ petition for
quashing of the selection list and for their appointment – Succeeded
before Single Judge – Writ appeal – Dismissed – Held: Entire
confusion has arisen due to the wrong reading of s.27 providing
for reservation for appointment – s.27(f) merely states that if the
required number of candidates belonging to the reserved community
are not available, then the vacancies, for which selection could not
be made in the current year, should be treated as backlog vacancies
– In subsequent recruitment, the backlog vacancies and the current
vacancies for the particular community must be separately
announced – Direct recruitment must first accommodate the backlog
vacancies and thereafter only, the current vacancies have to be
accommodated – The provision had been read by the appellants as
if the backlog vacancies must be filled in by MBC/DNC category
candidates, irrespective of the candidate’s merit/rank – Such
reservation category candidates who make it on their own merit
have to be adjusted against the general category candidates –
s.27(f) cannot be read in a manner to negate this principle – s.27
deals with the reservation – It has nothing to do with the general
candidates list/General Turn vacancies – Such candidates who have
made it on their own merit albeit, from reserved category, have not
sought the benefit of the reservation – Thus, s.27 would have nothing
[2021] 2 S.C.R. 1164
1164
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to do up to that point – It would apply only when the reservation
principle begins, which is after filling up of the seats on merit –
Thus, the word “first” in proviso would apply at that stage, i.e., the
backlog vacancies have to be filled in first and the current vacancies
to be filled in thereafter – At the stage when the general category
seats are being filled, there is thus no question of any carry forward
or current vacancies for reserved category arising at all – View
taken by the courts below agreed with.
Dismissing the appeals, the Court
HELD: 1.1 The judgment of the Single Judge is absolutely
lucid and clear to the controversy and the conclusion. Single Judge
set forth the controversy in the first paragraph itself, i.e., whether
the candidates who secured high marks should have been fitted
in the General Turn but have been fitted in MBC/DNC Quota for
the last year, which in turn has deprived certain candidates of
selection. It has been rightly noted that the entire confusion has
arisen due to the wrong reading of provisions of Section 27 of the
Tamil Nadu Government Servants (Conditions of Service) Act,
2016, which provides for reservation for appointment. Section
27(f) merely states that if the required number of candidates
belonging to the community which fall under reservation are not
available, then, the vacancies, for which selection could not be
made in the current year, should be treated as backlog vacancies.
In the subsequent recruitment, the backlog vacancies and the
current vacancies for the particular community must be separately
announced, and the direct recruitment must first accommodate
the backlog vacancies and thereafter only, the current vacancies
have to be accommodated. The provision had been read by the
appellants as if the backlog vacancies must be filled in by MBC/
DNC category candidates, irrespective of the merit of the
candidate or the rank secured by him/her. The highest mark that
was secured was 109 and, up to 90 marks, the candidates were
fitted in General Turn and thus those candidates will have to be
selected under the General Turn, irrespective of their community.
It is these candidates who had been fitted in the backlog vacancy
which has caused the problem. The Division Bench vide the
impugned o

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