K.Indulekha vs The Chairman on 31 July, 2023
18. The petitioner / Sathiyamoorthy seeks relaxation of age by
excluding the Covid period. Even though Sathiyamoorthy has sufficient
years of practice as on the date of notification, his date of birth was
10.12.1979, thereby he crossed the maximum upper age provided in the
notification, as the maximum upper age limit prescribed for SC/ST in terms
of 4(A) was 42 years. Sathiyamoorthy stated that the age relaxation fixed
for reserved candidates should be different and it cannot be applied
uniformly along with other communal categories. Admittedly, Rules have
not been questioned and in the absence of express provision to relax the
rules, as pointed out by the learned Standing Counsel for the Madras High
Court, no leniency can be shown to petitioner / Sathiyamoorthy. Moreover,
the judgment of the Apex Court in High Court of Delhi vs Devina Sharma
(supra) may not be applicable to the facts of this case, because pursuant to
the concession given by the Government before the Supreme Court, two
years' relaxation have been given and secondly, outer age limit has been
26/36
https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis
W.P.Nos.17456, 18843, 19151 and 19652 of 2023
increased by two years, namely, 40 to 42 years by amending the Rules as
stated supra.