Bhuvaneswari R vs The State of Tamil Nadu
- Court
- Madras High Court
WP(MD) No. 16379 of 2026
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
DATED: 27-10-2026
CORAM
THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE B.PUGALENDHI
WP(MD) No. 16379 of 2026
CNR:{HCMD010778322026}
AND WMP(MD) No. 12217 of 2026
Bhuvaneswari R
Assistant Professor in Zoology
Head of the Department in Zoology
Seethalakshmi Achi College for Women
Pallathur – 630107, Sivagangai District
..Petitioner(s)
Vs
1. The State of Tamil Nadu
Rep by its Secretary
Department of Higher Education
Fort St.George, Chennai - 600009
2. The Director of Collegiate Education
College Road, Chennai - 600 006.
3. The Joint Director of Collegiate Education
No. 268, Palam Station Road Sellur, Madurai-
625 002
4. The Secretary
Seethalakshmi Achi College for Women,
Pallathur - 630 107 Sivagangai District
5. The Principal
Seethalakshmi Achi College for Women
Pallathur - 630 107, Sivagangai District
6. H. Faritha Begum
Assistant Professor in Zoology
Seethalakshmi Achi College for Women Pallathur
- 630 107, Sivagangai District
..Respondent(s)
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WP(MD) No. 16379 of 2026
PRAYER: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of
India, praying this Court to issue a Writ of Certiorari calling for the
records relating to the impugned proceedings issued by the 3rd
respondent Joint Director in Oo.Mu.No.4550/Aal/2026 dated 08.06.2026
(received on 11.06.2026), directing the 5th respondent to appoint the 6th
respondent as HOD of Zoology Department in the 4th respondent college
and all proceedings in furtherance thereof quash the same as illegal.
For Petitioner(s) Mr K.Ragatheesh Kumar
for M/s. Isaac Chambers
For Respondent(s) Mr.G.Mohan Kumar
Additional Government Pleader
for R1 to R3
Mrs.Meenakshi for R4 and R5
Mr.V.R.Shanmuganathan for R6
ORDER
The order dated 08.06.2026 passed by the third respondent, the Joint
Director of Collegiate Education, Madurai, is challenged in this Writ
Petition. By the impugned order, the third respondent found fault with the
manner in which the petitioner was appointed as the Head of the
Department of Zoology on 13.04.2026, when the vacancy arose only on
31.05.2026. The third respondent has also observed that seniority has to
be determined in accordance with the roster system. Aggrieved by the
proceedings dated 08.06.2026, the petitioner has filed this Writ Petition,
raising the following grounds:
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WP(MD) No. 16379 of 2026
(i) The roster system cannot be relied upon for determining seniority in
view of the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Bimlesh Tanwar
v. State of Haryana and Others, reported in (2003) 5 SCC 604 [Bimlesh
Tanwar’s Case) .
(ii) According to the petitioner, seniority has to be determined on the
basis of merit, and the petitioner secured 20 marks, whereas the sixth
respondent secured only 19 marks. The third respondent has relied upon
the proceedings of the Director of Collegiate Education, Chennai, dated
08.10.2018, which, according to the petitioner, are contrary to the
principles laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Bimlesh Tanwar’s
Case . Therefore, the proceedings of the Director of Collegiate Education,
dated 08.10.2018, cannot be relied upon.
2. The learned counsel for the petitioner, by relying upon Section 17 of
the Private Colleges Regulation Act, submits that only the Government is
competent to frame guidelines, rules or notifications prescribing the
service conditions of teachers. Therefore, the Director is not the
competent authority under Section 17 to issue such directions, and the
same cannot be relied upon. He further submits that the impugned order
has disturbed the petitioner’s appointment as Head of the Department
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WP(MD) No. 16379 of 2026
(HOD) without providing an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner.
Hence the same is liable to be interfered with.
3. The learned Additional Government Pleader appearing for the
respondents 1 to 3 submits that the petitioner was appointed as Head of
Department even before the vacancy arose. Therefore, based on the
complaint lodged by the sixth respondent, an enquiry was conducted,
pursuant to which the Joint Director, by the impugned order, directed the
Principal to appoint the Head of the Department in accordance with law.
4. The learned counsel for the sixth respondent submits that, though the
petitioner was appointed on the same date as the sixth respondent, viz., on
21.02.2014, the petitioner did not possess the requisite qualifications. He
submits that the petitioner obtained the M.Phil. and M.Sc. degrees
simultaneously and, therefore, the degrees cannot be treated as valid.
Moreover, the petitioner had specialised only in Microbiology and not in
Zoology. Therefore, the very appointment of the petitioner is improper.
However, the learned counsel for the sixth respondent makes it clear that
the sixth respondent is not seeking any relief with regard to the validity of
the petitioner’s appointment as such. The dispute raised by the sixth
respondent concerns the manner in which the petitioner was appointed as
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WP(MD) No. 16379 of 2026
Head of the Department, without considering the claim of the sixth
respondent, who asserts that she is senior to the petitioner. He further
disputes the petitioner’s claim that she secured 20 marks and submits that
the sixth respondent is senior to the petitioner. It is contended that,
without considering the claim of the sixth respondent, the petitioner was
appointed as Head of the Department in a hurried manner, even before
the vacancy arose. He also points out that the petitioner’s appointment
was approved only on 30.06.2015, whereas the appointment of the sixth
respondent was approved in the year 2014 itself.
5. This Court has considered the rival submissions made on either side
and perused the materials available on record.
6. The impugned order has the effect of disturbing the petitioner’s
appointment as Head of the Department without providing an opportunity
of hearing to the petitioner. The petitioner claims to have been appointed
as Head of the Department on 10.04.2026, with effect from 01.06.2026.
While disturbing the petitioner’s appointment, in all fairness, an
opportunity of hearing ought to have been provided to her. Further, the
petitioner and the sixth respondent have raised several allegations against
each other, which also require consideration by the competent authority.
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WP(MD) No. 16379 of 2026
7. In view of the above, the impugned order of the third respondent dated
08.06.2026 is set aside, and the matter is remitted to the third respondent,
the Joint Director of Collegiate Education, Madurai, for fresh
consideration. The third respondent shall provide an opportunity of
hearing to the petitioner, the sixth respondent and the management, and
pass appropriate orders on merits and in accordance with law, within a
period of eight weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.
8. Accordingly, this Writ Petition is disposed of with the above
directions. There shall be no order as to costs. Consequently, the
connected Miscellaneous Petition is closed.
27-10-2026
Index: Yes/No
Speaking/Non-speaking order
Neutral Citation: Yes/No
mbi
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WP(MD) No. 16379 of 2026
To
1. The Secretary
Department of Higher Education
Fort St.George, Chennai - 600009
2. The Director of Collegiate Education
College Road, Chennai - 600 006
3. The Joint Director of Collegiate Education
No. 268, Palam Station Road Sellur, Madurai- 625 002
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WP(MD) No. 16379 of 2026
B.PUGALENDHI, J.
mbi
WP(MD) No. 16379 of 2026
27-10-2026
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