The Chief Educational Officer v. Francis Manoharan

BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT DATED: 13.03.2026

CORAM:

THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE N.SATHISH KUMAR AND THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE D.BHARATHA CHAKRAVARTHY Rev.Aplc(MD)No.34 of 2026 1.The Chief Educational Officer, Thoothukudi, Thoothukudi District.

2.The District Educational Officer, Thoothukudi, Thoothukudi District.

... Petitioners Vs.

1.Francis Manoharan 2.The Correspondent, St. Mary's Boys Higher Secondary School, Millerpuram - 628 008, Thoothukudi.

... Respondents PRAYER:- Review Petition filed under Order 47 Rules 1 and 2 of C.P.C. read with Section 114 of Civil Procedure Code praying to review the order dated 23.08.2023 made in W.A.(MD)No.505 of 2022. For Petitioners : Mr.R.Baskaran, Addl. Advocate General assisted by Mr.J.Ashok, Addl. Govt. Pleader For Respondents : Ms.A.Amala for R1 No Appearance for R2 1/4

ORDER

(Order of the Court was made by D.BHARATHA CHAKRAVARTHY, J.) The prayer in this Review Application is seeking to review the order passed in W.A.(MD)No.505 of 2022 dated 23.08.2023.

2. The brief factual background in which the review arises is that the first respondent/Writ Petitioner, who is a Teacher being B.T. Assistant (Maths), got the post graduate degree in Tamil and sought for the incentive increment. When the same was refused, he approached this Court. The Writ Petition was allowed and the Writ Appeal was also dismissed. The review is now sought on the ground that the degree is not in the relevant subject in which the person is teaching.

3. Apart from the present order, in several orders, including W.A.(MD) No. 2748 of 2025, after considering the relevant judgments and Government Orders, it has been held that such a condition does not exist in the scheme. The contention that a different degree would not be useful to students also, in our view, cannot be sustained, particularly as the education system presently follows a multidisciplinary approach. For 2/4

instance, a B.Sc. Mathematics teacher can correlate and apply mathematical principles such as number patterns/sequences while studying 'Venba' and 'Asiriyapa' and their grammatical rules. He can translate mathematical concepts in Tamil and explain better to the students. Therefore, the argument that it is an irrelevant subject is pedantic and not supported by any scientific report, much less by any express clause in the scheme. In the absence of any such express clause, we do not see any ground for interference. Apart from the above, the review petitioners have, in the meantime, implemented the order by granting a lump-sum amount, which has already been challenged by the petitioner and the same is pending before this Court in W.P.(MD) No. 6442 of 2026.

4. For all the above reasons, the Review Application stands dismissed. There shall be no order as to costs. [N.S.K., J.] & [D.B.C., J.] 13.03.2026 Index :Yes NCC :Yes vsm 3/4

N.SATHISH KUMAR , J.

AND D.BHARATHA CHAKRAVARTHY, J.

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