V.Hemalatha v. The Principal Secretary

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

DATED :05.11.2019

CORAM

THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE M.DHANDAPANI W.P.No.31105 of 2019 V.Hemalatha .. Petitioner vs 1.The Principal Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests, The Secretariat, Fort St George, Chennai 600 009 2.The Secretary Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission TNPSC Road, V.O.C.Nagar, Park Town, Chennai 600003 3.The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, (Head of the Department), Panagal Maaligai, Saidapet, Chennai- 600 015 .. Respondents Prayer: Writ Petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying to issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other writ, order or direction, directing the respondents to consider and pass orders to the representation dated 24.03.2016 & remainder dated 22.07.2019 for granting exemption of Training period and consequently direct assignment of appropriate placement as Assistant Conservator of Forest to pass such order by this Court.

For Petitioner : Mr.N.R.Jasmine Padma For Respondents : Mr.M.Elumalai Government Advocate 1/3

O R D E R

This petition has been filed seeking to direct the respondents to consider and pass orders on the representation dated 24.03.2016 & reminder dated 22.07.2019 for granting exemption of Training period and consequently direct assignment of appropriate placement as Assistant Conservator of Forest. 2.The case of the petitioner is that the petitioner was working as Assistant Conservator of Forests(Trainee), Coimbatore Forest Division, Tamil Nadu Forest Department. The Petitioner completed B.Sc (Forestry) in the year 2003 and the certificate issued by the Registrar, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University Coimbatore, dated 08.09.2017 meets the requirement of the training needs of SFS Institutes and the said selection order informed to undergo two years diploma course in forestry for State Forest Service Officers and the same was commenced from 19.06.2017 at Central Academy for State Forest Service (CASFOS) at Dehradun. Section 15 6(b) of Tamil Nadu Forest Service Rules reads as follows:

''

directly recruited Assistant Conservator of Forest, already holding a degree or diploma in Forestry considered equivalent to the diploma awarded by the Indian Forest College, Dehradun or State Forest Service Colleges, but will be directly posted for practical training under a Divisional Forest Officer.''

3.The petitioner sent a representation to the 1st and 3rd respondent on 24.03.2016 to seek for exemption of 2 years Academy training and be directly posted for Division under District Forest Officer for practical training as per Section 15 6(b) of Tamil Nadu Forest Service Rules. Till date the representation of the petitioner has not been considered.

4. Considering the above facts and circumstances and the limited request made by the petitioner, I am inclined to issue direction to the respondents to consider the representation dated 22.07.2019 and remainder dated 22.07.2019 and pass appropriate orders on merits and in accordance with law within a period of twelve (12) weeks from the date of receipt of a 2/3

copy of this order. With the above direction, the Writ Petition is disposed of. No costs.

-s/d- Assistant Registrar True Copy Sub-Assistant Registrar vsn To 1.The Principal Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests, The Secretariat, Fort St George, Chennai 600 009 2.The Secretary Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission TNPSC Road, V.O.C.Nagar, Park Town, Chennai 600003 3.The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, (Head of the Department), Panagal Maaligai, Saidapet, Chennai- 600 015 +1 cc to Mr.H.Manojin Advocate sr92102 +1 cc to Special Government pleader sr91681 W.P.No.31105 of 2019 aa03/12/2019 3/3