Prabhu.D v. The Chairman

BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT DATED : 25.09.2025

CORAM:

THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE ABDUL QUDDHOSE and W.M.P.(MD) Nos.10233 & 10234 of 2022 D.Prabhu ... Petitioner -vs1.The Chairman Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board Guindy Chennai-600 032 2.The Member Secretary Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board Guindy Chennai-600 032 ... Respondents

PRAYER: Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, to issue a writ of certiorarified mandamus to call for the records relating to the impugned provisional selection list dated 26.04.2022 issued by the 1st respondent and quash the entire selection process and consequently direct the respondents to appoint the petitioner as Environmental Scientist under the category of persons studied in Tamil Medium (PSTM Reservation) in accordance with Section 2(d) of Act 40/2010.

For Petitioner :

Mr.T.Lajapathi Roy Senior Counsel for Mr.G.Sarath Kumar For Respondents :

Ms.Madhuri Donti Reddy Standing Counsel

O R D E R

The grievance of the petitioner in this writ petition is with regard to the selection to the post of Environmental Scientist pursuant to the Notification No.01/2019, dated 06.03.2019 and Notification No.02/2019, dated 05.03.2020.

2. Several candidates, who were aggrieved with the selection list published pursuant to the aforesaid recruitment notifications, had filed writ petitions before the Principal Seat as well as the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court. One such writ petition is the present writ petition. However in the batch of writ petitions filed before the Principal Seat in W.P.No.17657 of 2020 batch, a learned Single Judge of this Court had disposed of the said writ petitions by directing the Chairman, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, to publish the selection list pertaining to the aforesaid recruitment notifications, which are also the subject matter of this writ petition, and proceed for issuance of necessary appointment / posting orders to the selected candidates in accordance with law as early as possible without any further delay.

3. Learned Standing Counsel appearing for the respondent - Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board would submit that pursuant to the aforesaid directions issued by another learned Single Judge of this Court on 21.04.2022, in the aforesaid batch of writ petition, the respondents published the selection list and thereafter, issued appointment orders to the selected candidates and the selected candidates have also joined duty.

4. Even though the grounds raised in this writ petition for challenging the selection list may be different from the grounds raised by the petitioners in the batch of writ petitions, which were disposed of by the Principal Seat of this Court on 21.04.2022, the recruitment notifications, which resulted in the selection list being published are one and the same. Since the respondents had already published the selection list and also issued appointment orders to the selected candidates only by abiding with the orders passed by another learned Single Judge of this Court in the batch of writ petitions, referred to supra, on 21.04.2022, the question of entertaining this writ petition at this belated stage does not arise. If aggrieved by the directions issued by the another learned Single Judge of this Court dated 21.04.

2022 in the batch of writ petitions, stated supra, the petitioner's remedy is only to file a writ appeal by seeking leave of the Division Bench of this Court to file the writ appeal, since the petitioner herein was not a party to the aforesaid batch of writ petitions, in which final order has already been passed on 21.04.2022.

5. For the foregoing reasons, this Court is of the considered view that this writ petition has now become infructuous, since appointment orders

have already been issued to the selected candidates and they have also taken charge of their posts. Accordingly, this writ petition is dismissed as infructuous. No costs. Consequently, connected miscellaneous petitions are closed.

25.09.2025 NCC :

Yes / No Index :

Yes / No Internet :

Yes / No Note to Office:

Issue order copy by 26.09.2025.

krk

ABDUL QUDDHOSE, J.

krk and W.M.P.(MD) Nos.10233 & 10234 of 25.09.2025