Madras High Court· 23 July 2026
How must a public post be advertised before it is filled?
2026:MHC:3057
2026:MHC:3057 · W.P. (MD) No.35806 of 2025
Coram: Justice C.V.Karthikeyan · Justice R.Sakthivel
Answer
By wide public notice. The requisitioning establishment must intimate the employment exchange, which sponsors names strictly in accordance with seniority and reservation, and must additionally call for names by publication in newspapers of wide circulation — at least two, one of them in the vernacular language — besides notice boards and other media, and must then consider all the candidatures. A vacancy filled without such advertisement is void ab initio and remains unenforceable, save appointments on compassionate grounds under the applicable Rules.
Headnote
Constitution of India — Part IX — Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act — s.102 — s.106 — Tamil Nadu Village Panchayat Secretaries (Conditions of Service) Rules, 2023 — r.3 — Recruitment — Self-government —
Constitution of India — Part IX — Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act — s.102 — Rules on service conditions are within the power —
Held: Part IX empowers the State to legislate on the constitution, powers and service conditions of Panchayats so as to enable self-government; Rules prescribing only the recruiting authority, the mode of recruitment, reservation and conditions of service are within that power. (¶13, ¶17)
Tamil Nadu Village Panchayat Secretaries (Conditions of Service) Rules, 2023 — r.3 — Selection by a District Level Committee — Self-government not infringed —
Held further: Vesting selection in a District Level Committee while the Panchayat President remains the appointing authority regulates and standardises public employment; it neither infringes Part IX nor violates the basic structure. (¶14, ¶18)
Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act — s.106 — Appointment without the power of dismissal — Checks and balances —
Held further: The general rule that the power to appoint carries the power to suspend or dismiss yields to a statutory proviso; the appointing authority keeps administrative control and may move the authorised officer, which guards against arbitrariness. (¶15)
Recruitment — Wide public notice — Two newspapers, one in the vernacular —
Held further: A post must be advertised in at least two newspapers, one in the vernacular, besides calling for names from the employment exchange; an appointment made without such notice is void ab initio. Petition dismissed. (¶20, ¶21, ¶25)
In the Court's own words
Paragraph 20At this point, this Court would like to cite here the Judgment of Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Excise Superintendent, Malkapatnam -vs- K.B.N.Vishweshwara Rao, reported in (1996) 6 SCC 216, wherein with a view to serve the fair-play and maintain equality of opportunity in the matter of employment to all eligible candidates, it was held that it is mandatory for the requestioning authority / establishment to intimate the employment exchange, which in turn, is supposed to sponsor the names of the candidates to the requestioning departments strictly in accordance with seniority and reservation, as per requisition. It was further held that, the appropriate department / establishment, shall call for the names by publication in the newspapers having wider circulation and also display on their office notice boards or announce on radio, television etc, and then they are supposed to consider the candidatures of all the candidates.
Paragraph 21Following the afore-cited Judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court as well as some other Judgments of Hon'ble Supreme Court and this Court, this Court in Commissioner, Department of Employment and Training -vs- K.P.Jaganathan (Full Bench) in W.A. No.1027 of 2013 dated June 9, 2014, held thus: "14. It is also relevant, at this juncture, to note that the Three Judge Bench of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, in the decision reported in 2014 (2) SCALE 262 [Renu and others v. District & Sessions Judge, Tis Hazari and another] reiterated the above said proposition of law and gave a direction to all the High Courts to comply with the purport of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India while filling up of any vacant post either in the High Court or in the Subordinate Courts throughout the India. In the said decision, the Hon'ble Supreme Court held that "post shall be filled up by issuing the advertisement in atleast two newspapers and one of which must be in vernacular language having wide circulation in the respective State, apart from calling for a list from the local employment exchange and any vacancy filled up without advertising as prescribed, shall be void ab- initio and would remain unenforceable and inexecutable except the appointment on compassionate grounds, as per the Rules applicable"."
Acts & Sections
Part IX Constitution of Indias.102 Tamil Nadu Panchayats Acts.106 Tamil Nadu Panchayats Actr.3 Tamil Nadu Village Panchayat Secretaries (Conditions of Service) Rules, 2023Tamil Nadu Government Servants (Conditions of Service) Act, 2016One judgment a day. That's the whole habit.
Read the full text of 2026:MHC:3057 — and get the Supreme Court's output as a five-minute daily read, with plain-language headnotes and the questions each judgment settles.
Create my free accountFree forever plan · 30 seconds · data stays in India
Open the full judgment →