Madras High Court
P.Mohanasundararajan vs / on 27 February, 2020
Author: M.S.Ramesh
Bench: M.S.Ramesh
1
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
DATED: 27.02.2020
CORAM:
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE M.S.RAMESH
W.P.(MD)Nos.
26404,12131,16287,16583,16643,16900,16904,16914,16925,16973,
17003,17006,17008,17078,17083,17085,17115,17187,17290,17329,
17819, 17846,18580,25415 and 26710 of 2019
and
W.M.P.(MD).Nos.
11051,12946,13222,13223,13225,13273,13275,13485,13486,13490,
13503,13504,13506,13510,13511,13512,13513,13519,13541,13543,
13565,13568,13569,13571,13573,13574,13620,13621,13624,13625,
13626,13627,13645,13648,13700,13803,13804,13805,13825,
13826,13827,14283, 14314,14963,14964,22812,22813 and 23039 of 2019
W.P.(MD).No.26404 of 2019
P.Mohanasundararajan ... Petitioner
/vs./
1.The Tamilnadu Public Service Commission,
Represented by its Secretary,
VOC Nagar,
Chennai.
2.The Secretary to the Government,
Home (Transport) Department,
Fort St.George,
Chennai. ... Respondents
PRAYER: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for
issuance of Writ of Mandamus, directing the first respondent to permit the
petitioner to attend the interview for the post of Motor Vehicle Inspector
http://www.judis.nic.in
2
Grade II in the Tamil Nadu Transport Subordinate Service 2013-2018 along
with other eligible candidate and to consider the appointment of the
petitioner on merits and in accordance with law.
For Petitioner : Mr.Veerakathiravan
Senior Counsel
for M/s.Veera Associates
For R1 : Mr.D.Sivaraman
For R2 : Mr.K.Chellapandian
Additional Advocate General
assisted by Mr.V.Anand,
Government Advocate
COMMON ORDER
In all these writ petitions, the petitioners herein are predominantly aggrieved against their non-inclusion in the selection process in one way or other. Incidentally, with similar grievances, a batch of writ petitions came to be filed before the Principal Bench of this Court in W.P.No.22535 of 2019, etc., batch. On consideration of the grievances of the petitioners as well as the stand taken by the Government, a learned Single Judge of this Court had disposed of all the writ petitions on 24.01.2020 with the following directions;
“44(a)The Motor Vehicles Maintenance Department shall take up the process of verification of the Workshop Experience Certificates issued by the approved Automobile Workshop as defined in the explanation to Clause6(B) of the Notification.
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(b)The Workshop Experience Certificates shall be scrutinized by the Motor Vehicles Maintenance Department for all the 1328 candidates, who participated in the written examination.
(c)The Verification/scrutiny shall be done with regard to all the Workshop Experience Certificates issued to the candidates, irrespective of the year in which it was issued.
(d)the Automobile Workshops are recognized/approved/certified only by the Motor Vehicles Maintenance Department and therefore, the department is expected to know the criteria/basis on which such recognition/approval/certification was granted and the records that are supposed to be maintained by these Workshops. The same shall be kept in mind while scrutinizing/verifying the Workshop Experience Certificates issued to the candidates by the concerned Workshop. The relevant records are already available and what requires to be verified is the authenticity of the certificates issued by the Authorised Workshops.
(e)It is open to the Motor Vehicles Maintenance Department to get clarifications from the candidates, if so required during the process of verification/scrutiny.
(f)The bench mark that is evolved by the Motor Vehicles Maintenance Department shall be equally applied across the board for all candidates without any discrimination and this will ensure transparency in the entire process.
(g)The Motor Vehicles Maintenance Department at the time of considering the experience of the candidates, who http://www.judis.nic.in 4 have worked on vehicles fitted with petrol engines and diesel engines, need not disqualify a candidate for not possession the experience with petrol engines. The State Transport Corporation has already dispensed with petrol engine run vehicles from the year 2014 onwards and therefore, it cannot issue Work Experience Certificate for candidates who worked in the State Transport Corporation for experience in vehicles fitted with petrol engines. Therefore, the experience with petrol engines and /or diesel engines can be taken into consideration provided the candidate has worked for a period of not less than one year.
(h)While considering the minimum period of one year, the Motor Vehicles Maintenance Department shall ensure that each candidates had worked atleast for 240 days in a given year. The Motor Vehicles Maintenance Department shall also ensure that candidates who had worked as a mechanic and are claiming consideration of their combined experience as a mechanic and as a driver, have done test driving in the course of their work. The full Bench of this Court in the judgment referred supra has clarified this position.
(i)Insofar as the driving experience certificate is concerned, a self-declaration shall be obtained from the person in-charge of the Automobile Workshop in the format that has been appended to the memo filed by the Transport Commissioner.
(j)The Motor Vehicles Maintenance Department shall complete this process within a period of four weeks from the http://www.judis.nic.in 5 date of receipt of a copy of this order and submit its report to the TNPSC.
(k)The TNPSC on receipt of the report from the Motor Vehicles Maintenance Department, shall independently apply its mind as a constitutional functionary under Article 320 of the Constitution of India and proceed to call all the eligible candidates for the oral test. It is also open to the TNPSC to seek clarification form the candidates in the course of certificate verification; and
(l)The TNPSC shall complete the process of final selection within a period of four weeks after it receives a report from the Motor Vehicles Maintenance Department and shall publish the fresh list of selected candidates on its website. By virtue of this order, the earlier selection list consisting of 32 candidates gets automatically effaced.”
2.In view of the decision taken therein, I do not intend to take any contrary view and as such, the order passed by the Principal Bench, dated 24.01.2020 shall stand good for the present writ petitions also.
3.At this juncture, a doubt was raised by the petitioners that the notification dated 14.02.2018, prescribes the experience requirements to include experience of having worked for more than one year on vehicles, on a full time basis in any automobile workshop, which undertakes repairs of all http://www.judis.nic.in 6 Light Motor Vehicles, Heavy Goods Vehicles and Heavy Passenger Motor Vehicles. Since the Automobile Workshops referred to in the requirement for the purpose of experience was explained to include the Workshops certified/approved/recognized by the Transport Commissioner or the Director, Motor Vehicles Maintenance Department for carrying out “all kind of repairs”, a doubt was raised as to whether “all kind of repairs” would include only such workshops, which has been recognized/approved/certified to handle major work alone or otherwise?
4.In this connection, the learned Additional Advocate General, on instructions from the respondents herein, submitted that the explanation column in Clause 6(B) of the notification, dated 14.02.2018, which defines Automobile Workshops shall mean and include only such Workshops which are recognized or approved or certified by the Transport Commissioner or the Director, Motor Vehicles Maintenance Department for “major repairs”.
5.The effect of the submission of the learned Additional Advocate General is that, the certificates possessed by the candidates from such Automobile Workshops, which are recognized or approved or certified by the Transport Commissioner or the Director, Motor Vehicles Maintenance Department to carry out “major repairs”, shall be considered to be a http://www.judis.nic.in 7 certificate from such Automobile Workshops entitled to carry out “all kind of repairs”.
6.The clarifications submitted before this Court by the learned Additional Advocate General is hereby recorded and the explanation in respect of the Automobile Workshop as referred to in Clause 6(B) of the notification dated 14.02.2018, shall be read in consonance with the findings in this order.
7.With the above clarification, the writ petitions stand closed, since no further orders are required, in view of the order dated 24.01.2020 passed by the Principal Bench in the batch of writ petitions.
8.In view of the disposal of the present writ petitions, the respondents shall continue with the selection process, pursuant to the notification dated 14.02.2018, without reference to the interim orders passed by this Court earlier. No cots. Consequently, connected miscellaneous petitions are closed.
27.02.2020
Index : Yes / No
http://www.judis.nic.in
8
Internet : Yes / No
Ns
M.S.RAMESH, J.
Ns
To
1.The Tamilnadu Public Service Commission, Represented by its Secretary, VOC Nagar, Chennai.
2.The Secretary to the Government, Home (Transport) Department, Fort St.George, Chennai.
Order made in W.P.(MD)Nos.
26404,12131,16287,16583,16643,16900,16904,16914,16925,16973, 17003,17006,17008,17078,17083,17085,17115,17187,17290,17329, 17819, 17846,18580,25415 and 26710 of 2019 and W.M.P.(MD).Nos.
11051,12946,13222,13223,13225,1327 3,13275,13485,13486,13490, 13503,13504,13506,13510,13511,1351 2,13513,13519,13541,13543, 13565,13568,13569,13571,13573,1357 4,13620,13621,13624,13625, 13626,13627,13637,13645,13648,1370 0,13803,13804,13805,13825, 13826,13827,14283, 14314,14963,14964,22812,22813 and 23039 of 2019 27.02.2020 http://www.judis.nic.in