Central Administrative Tribunal - Madras
C Priya vs Ut Of Pondicherry on 19 March, 2026
1 OA/310/01684/2016
CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
CHENNAI BENCH
OA/310/01684/2016
Dated this the 19th day of March, Two Thousand Twenty Six
CORAM :
HON'BLE MR M. SWAMINATHAN. MEMBER (J)
AND
HON'BLE MR. M.L. SRIVASTAVA MEMBER(A)
C. Priya
W/o Subramania Siva,
No.102, Poraiyar Salai,
Karaikal .. Applicant
By Advocate M/s. V. Ajayakumar
Vs.
1. Union of India rep by
rep by the Secretary to Government of Puducherry
for education,
Chief Secretariat, Puducherry.
2. The Director of Primary School Education,
Directorate of School Education,
Anna Nagar, Puducherry.
3. K. Sarasveswari
Primary School Teacher,
Education Department,
Puducherry.
4. R. Anandi,
Primary School Teacher,
Education Department,
Puducherry
5. The Tahsildar,
Taluk Office,
Department of Revenue and Disaster Management,
Karaikal .. Respondents
By Advocate Mr. R. Syed Mustafa for R1, R. 2 & R5
2 OA/310/01684/2016
ORDER
(Pronounced by Hon'ble Mr. M. Swaminathan, Judicial Member) Challenging the employment of the respondents 3 and 4 as Primary School Teacher by the impugned Select List Notification, dated 12.10.2015, the applicant has filed the OA for quashing of the said respondents' employment and for a direction to the 2 nd respondent to appoint her to the said post with effect from the date on which the other candidates were appointed with all other consequential reliefs including seniority and difference of wages and to pass such other or further orders in the interest of justice and thus render justice.
2. Brief facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant are as follows:
The applicant holds a Master's degree and completed a Diploma in Teacher Education in 2009. She subsequently qualified in the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) by securing 90 marks, equivalent to 60%. She belongs to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category and is therefore entitled to reservation in appointments. In June 2015, the second respondent issued a Notification inviting applications to fill 425 vacancies for the post of Primary School Teacher. The applicant applied for the said post and secured 75.217% marks as per the evaluation method adopted by the second respondent. At the time of submitting her application, the applicant had applied for a community certificate. However, due to
3 OA/310/01684/2016 administrative delay, she enclosed an earlier community certificate, which erroneously described her as a migrant. Upon receiving the updated certificate, she promptly submitted it to the respondent. Despite this, the applicant was not selected, even though several candidates with lower marks were included in the select list. Aggrieved by this, the applicant has filed the present Original Application.
3. The learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant secured higher marks than respondents 3 and 4, as well as several other candidates who were included in the select list. The denial of appointment to the applicant for the post of Primary School Teacher is therefore arbitrary, discriminatory, and illegal. It is further submitted that the applicant belongs to the OBC category of Puducherry, but one of her certificates indicated her nativity as Tamil Nadu, compelling her to submit the earlier certificate. The counsel also contends that the applicant obtained the correct community certificate on 30.09.2015, while the select list was published only on 12.10.2015, and thus the delay was not attributable to her. Since the updated certificate was submitted prior to the publication of the results, the respondents ought to have considered her candidature for inclusion in the select list based on her merit. Accordingly, he prays for the relief sought in the Original Application.
4 OA/310/01684/2016
4. Per contra, the learned counsel for the Government Pleader for Govt of Puducherry submits that a total of 1,717 applications were received before the last date. Upon scrutiny, 921 applications were rejected, and 786 were found to be in order. The applicant had submitted an old OBC certificate dated 21.05.2007, which classified her as a migrant OBC. Although she satisfied the prescribed age and educational qualifications, she was treated as a General (Unreserved) category candidate and included among the 786 eligible applicants. It is further submitted that the applicant secured 90 marks in the TET examination, resulting in a net percentage of 75.21%. However, under the Unreserved category, the last selected candidate had secured 77.283%. As the applicant's score was below the cutoff, she could not be selected. Accordingly, the respondents pray for dismissal of the Original Application.
5. We have heard the submissions made by the learned counsel for both the parties and carefully perused the pleadings and materials available on record.
6. The records indicate that the Department of School Education, Government of Puducherry, issued a Notification, dated 26.05.2015 5 OA/310/01684/2016 inviting applications for filling 425 vacancies for the post of Primary School Teacher in the Puducherry and Karaikal regions. As per the prospectus, the details are as follows:
Name of the Post : Primary School Teacher - 2015 No of Vacancies : 425 (Puducherry & Karaikal) Eligibility Condition Age Limit : Between 18 & 32 years as on 17.06.2015 which is the last date of date for receipt of applications. Age limit is relaxable for OBC, SC and Differently abled candidates in accordance with the instructions issued by the Government from time to time Community/Nativity : Candidates claiming reservation under SC category should belong to a caste which is recognized as Schedule Caste under "The constitution of India (Pondicherry) Schedule Caste Order, 1964, dated 05.03.1964 read with "The Constitution of India (Scheduled Caste) Orders (Second Amendment) Act 2002 (Central Act 61 of 2002 Selection of reserved categories will be provisionally made based on the information furnished by the candidates in their application. The provisionally selected candidates shall produce the required community/nativity /residence certificates obtained from an officer
6 OA/310/01684/2016 of the department of revenue & disaster management not below the rant of Deputy Tahsildar at the time of certificate verification failing which their provisional selection will automatically stand cancelled without any notice/limitation.
Method of Selection : There shall be 100 marks for selection. 85% shall be marks obtained in qualifying examinations and 15% for employment exchange seniority.
The 85% marks shall be calculated on the weighted average marks obtained by the candidate in HISC & Diploma in Teacher Education.
15 marks shall be awarded based on the seniority in employment exchange at rate of 1.5 marks for every completed year from the date of registration of D.T.Ed
7. From the records, it is evident that out of 1,717 applications received, 921 were rejected upon scrutiny, and 786 were found eligible. The applicant had submitted an old OBC certificate dated 21.05.2007, which categorized her as a migrant OBC. Consequently, she was treated as a General category candidate for the purpose of selection. However, as she satisfied the prescribed age and educational qualifications, her name was included among the 786 eligible candidates. The applicant secured 90 marks in the TET examination, resulting in a net percentage of 75.21%. All eligible applications were placed before the Direct Recruitment Committee, which convened on 25.09.2015. The Committee provisionally 7 OA/310/01684/2016 selected 425 candidates in accordance with the prescribed reservation policy, and the results were declared in September 2015. Under the Unreserved category, the last selected candidate secured 77.283%, whereas the applicant had secured only 75.21%. Consequently, she was not selected. No waiting list was prepared by the Committee.
8. The applicant contends that she obtained the updated community certificate on 30.09.2015, prior to the publication of the select list on 12.10.2015, and therefore her candidature ought to have been considered. However, this contention is not tenable, as the selection list had already been finalized on 25.09.2015, and the publication on 12.10.2015 was merely formal in nature.
9. In the above circumstance, we do not find any merit in the contention of the applicant and the applicant has not made out a valid case. In the result, the OA is dismissed as devoid of merits. There shall be no order as to costs (M.L. SRIVASTAVA) (M.SWAMINATHAN) MEMBER(A) MEMBER(J)
19. i03.2026 mas MA Digitally signed by M A SUNDAR SUNDAR Date: 2026.04.08 11:21:22 +05'30'