Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Six petitions against lab technician recruitment

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has allowed six writ petitions seeking to declare as illegal and unconstitutional the recruitment of Laboratory Technician Grade-II in the State Government Service on the basis of district-wise employment exchange seniority.

The petitioners, M. Ramesh Kumar and others, submitted that they had successfully completed Diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology (DMLT) and registered before the district employment exchange. They were fully qualified and eligible for appointment as Laboratory Technician Grade-II. The special rules stated that DMLT candidates should be given preference in appointment. When vacancies arose, the appointing authorities received a list of candidates from the District Employment Office (DEO), Chennai, by following the district-wise seniority. Candidates who were far junior to them in employment exchange registration were called for interview.

The petitioners said the authorities’ action to call for the list of eligible candidates from only the DEO, Chennai, was contrary to the Tamil Nadu Medical Subordinate Service Rules, which stated that the Laboratory Technician Grade-II post was a State cadre post and persons holding the post could be transferred throughout the State. The petitioners prayed the court to forbear the official authorities from recruiting candidates on the basis of district-wise employment exchange seniority in the forthcoming vacancies.

In the counter, the authorities denied that the post was a State-cadre post.

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