R.Dharani v. State Of Tamilnadu
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT DATED: 14.08.2025
CORAM
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE K.RAJASEKAR and W.M.P.(MD).No.23492 of 2019 R.Dharani ... Petitioner Vs.
1.State of Tamil Nadu, Rep. by its Secretary to Government, School Education Department, Secretariat, Chennai - 600 009.
2.The Chairman, Teachers Recruitment Board, 4th Floor, EVK Sampath Maaligai, DPI Campus, College Road, Chennai - 600 006.
3.The Member Secretary, Teachers Recruitment Board, 4th Floor, EVK Sampath Maaligai, DPI Campus, College Road, Chennai - 600 006.
... Respondents PRAYER: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to issue a writ of Mandamus, directing the respondents to award full marks to the petitioner for Questions No.39 (Question No.113 in the answer key) 81 (Question No.99 in the answer key), 124 (Question No.34 in the answer key)
and 133 (Question No.81 in the answer key) to which the wrong answers given in the answer key of the 2nd respondent for the Tamil Nadu Teachers Recruitment Board, 2018-2019 and add four (4) marks in the total score of the petitioner in the said Tamil Nadu Teachers Recruitment Board, exams held on 23.06.2019 and include the petitioner in the final merit selection list and appoint the petitioner for the post of Computer Instructor Grade-I (Post Graduate Cadre) out of the 814 positions notified under Notification No.09/2019 dated 01.03.2019 on the file of the second respondent. For Petitioner : Mr.S.Selvakumar For R-1 : Mr.N.Satheesh Kumar Additional Government Pleader For R-2 & R-3 : Mr.T.Amjad Khan Government Advocate
ORDER
The Writ Petition is filed for Mandamus to award full marks to the petitioner for Question Nos.39, 81, 124 and 133 (Question Nos.113, 99, 34 and 81 in the answer key) in Tamil Nadu Teachers Recruitment Board exams held on 23.06.2019 and include the petitioner in the final merit selection list and appoint her in the post of Computer Instructor Grade-I (Post Graduate Cadre) out of the 814 positions notified under Notification No.09/2019 dated 01.03.2019 on the file of the second respondent.
2. According to the petitioner, she is an aspirant and pursuant to the notification issued by the second respondent dated 01.03.2019, she applied for the post of Computer Instructor Grade I (Post Graduate Cadre) and she appeared for the written examination. She would further submit that Question Nos.39, 81, 124 and 133 of the said examination contained wrong answer keys. Accordingly, she had been denied marks for the said questions. Hence, if marks are awarded to her for the above questions, she could become successful in the selection process.
3. Per contra, the learned Government Advocate appearing for the respondents 2 and 3, by relying on the counter affidavit, submitted that the petitioner herein had raised objections to Question No.81 alone and she had not raised any objections regarding the other three questions, which have been mentioned as wrong answer key in this Writ Petition. He further submitted that the Expert Committee has already looked into the objections received from various persons including the petitioner and the objections were scrutinized by the subject experts, who had confirmed that the final answer key published by the Board is correct. Hence, the petitioner is not entitled for Mandamus as prayed for.
4. The learned Government Advocate relied on the judgment of the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Ran Vijay Singh Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh, (2018) 2 SCC 357, in support of his submissions.
5. I have considered the submissions made on both sides and perused the materials available on record.
6. On perusal of the typed set of papers filed in support of this Writ Petition, it is seen that the petitioner has not produced the copy of her objections submitted to the Recruitment Board. However, it is admitted by the respondents that the petitioner had submitted her objections for Question No.81 and according to them, the applicable answer key for Question No.81 is option 'C' and the same has been accepted by the subject experts.
7. It is settled law that onus is on the candidate to not only demonstrate that the key answer is incorrect, but also that it is a glaring mistake which is totally apparent and no inferential process or screening is required to show that the key answer is wrong.
8. In the present case, the subject matter is relating to computer programme and as stated in the counter, the Expert Committee has stood with the answer key provided by the Board. In view of the same, this Court is not able to appreciate the contentions of the petitioner. Hence, this Writ Petition has no merits and the same is dismissed. There shall be no order as to costs. Consequently, connected miscellaneous petition is closed. 14.08.2025 NCC : Yes / No Index : Yes / No Internet : Yes / No Lm To 1.The Secretary to Government, State of Tamil Nadu, School Education Department, Secretariat, Chennai - 600 009.
2.The Chairman, Teachers Recruitment Board, 4th Floor, EVK Sampath Maaligai, DPI Campus, College Road, Chennai - 600 006.
3.The Member Secretary, Teachers Recruitment Board, 4th Floor, EVK Sampath Maaligai, DPI Campus, College Road, Chennai - 600 006.
K.RAJASEKAR,J.
Lm 14.08.2025