The Madras High
Court recently imposed a ₹5 lakh fine on the Tamil Nadu government for filing
frivolous appeals to avoid paying salary arrears owed to assistant professors
appointed in 2009. Justices R. Subramanian and L. Victoria Gowri of the Madurai
Bench criticized the State for its “atrocious game” with its citizens and hoped
that such exemplary costs would deter similar writ appeals in the future.
The Court
reviewed ten writ appeals filed by the State last year, challenging a
single-judge’s order that required payment of pending salaries from 2009.
Despite the professors being appointed to government colleges in Tirunelveli
district in 2009, the Joint Director of Collegiate Education only retroactively
approved these appointments on March 11, 2020. The following day, the State
issued a cancellation notification without providing reasons.
The ten
assistant professors contested this cancellation in the High Court. While the
case was still underway, the Director of Collegiate Education withdrew the
cancellation and reaffirmed their appointments, prompting the single-judge to
order payment of the salaries and arrears.
During the
appeal, the State argued it lacked sufficient funds to pay the arrears, but the
Court found this claim unconvincing. Consequently, the Court fined ₹50,000 on
each of the 10 appeals, with ₹25,000 from each fine directed to the assistant
professors and the remainder to be donated to a local cancer care foundation.
The Court stated, “We hope this decision will deter the Government from filing
similar writ appeals in the future. The Government may recover these costs from
the officers responsible for these appeals.”
Additional
Government Pleader J. Ashok represented the State, while Advocate T. Cibi
Chakraborthy represented the assistant professors.
