Madras HC Rejects Below-Cut-Off MBC Candidate’s Bid to Remove Two BC Teachers From PSTM List After University Verified Their Certificates

The petitioner challenged the selection of respondents 4 and 5 as Post Graduate Assistants in Mathematics under the Persons Studied in Tamil Medium (PSTM) quota, contending that they had pursued their M.Sc. degrees in English medium.

He relied on a Periyar University RTI reply stating that Tamil-medium instruction was unavailable for M.Sc. Mathematics.

The respondents relied on later university verification confirming the genuineness of the PSTM certificates and information stating that the candidates had studied in Tamil medium.

The Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB) also submitted that the petitioner, an MBC candidate, was outside the zone of consideration with 75.85704 marks against an MBC cut-off of 81, and that his earlier challenge had been dismissed in W.P. No. 22905 of 2023.

The respondents 4 and 5 belonged to the BC roster.

The petition was considered under the High Court’s writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution, invoked through a prayer for mandamus.

The Court applied no statutory provision or general legal precedent expressly in its reasoning.

It relied on the recruitment notifications governing the PSTM quota, the university’s verification of the candidates’ certificates, the petitioner’s prior unsuccessful writ petition, and the parties’ respective communal-roster positions.

The Court considered the petitioner’s RTI evidence alongside the subsequent university verification.

Although the earlier RTI reply stated that Tamil-medium instruction was unavailable, the university had verified the PSTM certificates as genuine and provided information that respondents 4 and 5 had studied M.Sc. Mathematics in Tamil medium.

The Court also noted that the petitioner’s earlier writ petition raising a similar claim had been dismissed, that he did not meet the MBC cut-off, and that respondents 4 and 5 were selected against the BC roster, whereas the petitioner belonged to the MBC category.

In these circumstances, it found no merit in the challenge.

The connected miscellaneous petition was closed, with no order as to costs.