Madras High Court seeks all records in IAS appointment case

Chennai: The Madras high court has ordered production of entire records relating to non-conferment of IAS on K. Madalaimuthu and posted to October 7 further hearing of the contempt application filed by him. Contending that the authorities had willfully disobeyed the orders of the court, which directed them to consider and appoint him to the IAS, Madalaimuthu had approached the Madras HC to punish them for committing contempt of court. A division bench, comprising justices N. Paul Vasanthakumar and K. Ravichandrabaabu, before whom the contempt application came up for hearing on Tuesday, said, “Post on October 7 for production of entire records especially to find out how the petitioner was awarded 35 out of 50 marks under the caption CR Assessment.” According to Madalaimuthu, after several rounds of litigation over his seniority, he moved the Central Administrative Tribunal by filing an application claiming appointment to the IAS by selection against vacancies for 2009, which was allowed. The state government challenged the order and the HC disposed of it observing that the petitioner had been harassed and victimised at every point of time and that there was every justification for his seeking appointment to the IAS with effect from 2007, instead of 2009. It also granted permission to him to move CAT once again by filing a comprehensive application. CAT directed that the petitioner be considered and appointed to the IAS by selection against vacancies for 2007. Once again, the government challenged the CAT order and the HC dismissed the petition. The government moved the apex court, which dismissed the SLP. The tribunal and the HC directed that petitioner’s ACRs for the period 2006-008 be eschewed for consideration. While so, the stand of the UPSC that on a comparative assessment of his ACRs he was not found fit was thoroughly unfair and improper. The approach of the UPSC to deal with his case as a routine one, without keeping in mind the directions of this court, tantamount to willful disobedience of court direction, he added. Next: UPSC conferring IAS upheld UPSC conferring IAS upheld Setting aside the Madras bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) order quashing an order of the Union Public Service Commission (UP S C) conferring IAS on a state government officer, the Madras HC has uph eld the UPSC notification. The CAT bench in July had set aside the order of the UPSC selection committee conferring IAS on D. Jagannathan, former Namakkal collector, holding that the selection and promotion was not done in a fair manner. On a writ petition from Jagannathan, a division bench comprising Justi ces N. Paul Vasan tha ku m ar and M.M. Sund re sh quashed the CAT ord er. The bench observed that Sa ttanathan had no locus standi to move the CAT as he had lacked the necessary qualification for bec oming an IAS officer and the committee had rightly rejected his candidature. CAT had committed a wrong by issuing the notification. Next: HC ex-staff gets 10-yr RI for dowry death HC ex-staff gets 10-yr RI for dowry death A mahila court in Chennai on Tuesday awarded 10 years rigorous imprisonment to a youth who was as an office assistant in the Madras HC, on the charge of dowry death of his wife. The then office assistant, P.Udayakumar of Saidapet, married P. Manjula of Chidamb aram in 2009. Dema nd ing more dow ry, they tortured and har assed her repeatedly. Unable to bear the torture, Manujla committed suicide by hanging herself. The police registered case against him and his parents for offen ces, including dowry death. Mahila court judge Meena Satheesh, found Udayakumar guilty of committing the offence while acquitting his father. The court awarded 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment term to Udayakumar.