Court Directs Compliance with Supreme Court and Division Bench Precedents in Recruitment Process
In a significant judgment delivered on August 18, 2026, the Madras High Court has mandated the Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB) to revoke the second provisional selection list for the recruitment of P.G. Assistants (Economics) and issue a fresh list adhering to established legal precedents. The Division Bench, comprising Justices S.M. Subramaniam and Krishnaswamy Govindarajan, underscored the necessity for TRB to conform to the directives laid down by the Supreme Court in the landmark case of K. Shobana v. State of Tamil Nadu and the Division Bench of the High Court in J. Sheena v. Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission.
The legal battle began when the TRB published a second provisional selection list on October 13, 2022, which omitted the names of candidates who were initially selected in the first list dated September 14, 2022. The affected candidates challenged this exclusion through writ petitions, contending that the TRB failed to apply the binding legal principles articulated in the aforementioned judgments.
The court found that the TRB did not implement the ratio from the Shobana judgment, which was applicable at the time of the first list's publication, and criticized the TRB for not adhering to judicial precedents. The Bench also highlighted that although the Sheena judgment was pronounced after the second list was issued, the principles from the Shobana case were already in force and should have been followed.
The court has directed the Chairman of the TRB to investigate and identify officials responsible for the oversight and, if warranted, initiate disciplinary proceedings. Furthermore, the TRB is instructed to complete the revised selection process within six weeks and ensure compliance with judicial mandates in the future.
Bottom Line :
Recruitment process - Teachers Recruitment Board directed to cancel the second provisional selection list for P.G. Assistants (Economics) and publish a fresh list by strictly implementing the ratio laid down by the Supreme Court in K. Shobana and the Division Bench of the High Court in J. Sheena.
Statutory provision(s): Tamil Nadu Government Servants (Conditions of Service) Act, 2016 Section 27(f)
Teachers Recruitment Board v. C. Vijayalakshmi, (Madras)(DB) : Law Finder Doc id # 2966577
