The State Of Tamil Nadu Vs G Babu — Madras HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

The State Of Tamil Nadu Vs G Babu — Madras HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Writ appeal dismissed; the Single Judge's order dated 21.01.2025 in W.P.No.30837 of 2023 allowing regularization of the respondent's service stands (already implemented via G.O.(2D)No.149 dated 28.07.2025); no order as to costs; connected C.M.P.No.5014 of 2026 closed.

Issue for consideration

Whether the Division Bench should interfere with the order dated 21.01.2025 in W.P.No.30837 of 2023 of the writ Court allowing regularization of the respondent, G. Babu, a Driver appointed on daily wages with more than ten years of continuous service in the Forest Department. +1 more

Court's answer

The issue stands covered by decisions of this Court approved and confirmed up to the Hon'ble Supreme Court, which the learned Single Judge followed in allowing the writ petition; hence the impugned order cannot be said to be an infirm one.

Ratio / Principle

There has been a consistent stand of the Court that the benefit of G.O.(Ms)No.22, Personnel and Administrative Reforms (F) Department dated 28.02.2006 followed by G.O.(Ms)No.74, Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department dated 27.06.2013 shall be extended to temporary employees who have been working continuously for more than ten years, and on completion of ten years they are entitled to regularization.

Key takeaways

The order impugned is a sustainable one; it has been accepted and implemented by the appellant Department through G.O.(2D)No.149 dated 28.07.2025, and the Division Bench sees no reasons to interfere with it.ratio¶48
The writ appeal deserves to be dismissed and is dismissed; there shall be no order as to costs and the connected miscellaneous petition is closed.ratio¶50

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Madras High Court Division Bench (judgment delivered by R. Suresh Kumar, J., with Shamim Ahmed, J.) dismissed the State's intra-Court appeal under Clause XV of Letters Patent against the order dated 21.01.2025 in W.P.No.30837 of 2023, whereby the Single Judge had allowed the writ petition of G. Babu, a Driver appointed on daily wages from 01.04.2008 in the Forest Range Office, Kallakurichi, who had worked continuously for over ten years and sought regularization after the Department rejected his plea on 08.09.2023 (following a direction dated 22.06.2023 in W.P.No.18322 of 2023 to consider his case). The Single Judge had followed W.P(MD)No.11106 of 2013 (01.12.2016), confirmed in W.A.(MD)No.686 of 2017 and further confirmed in S.L.P.(Civil) Diary No.29276 of 2018 (04.09.2018); a co-ordinate Division Bench in W.A.No.3161 of 2025 (Government of Tamil Nadu Vs. N. Nithianathapandi, order dated 11.11.2025) had likewise dismissed a similar appeal upholding W.P.No.11233 of 2021 (12.01.2024). Holding that there is a consistent stand that temporary employees working continuously for more than ten years are entitled to regularization under G.O.(Ms)No.22, Personnel and Administrative Reforms (F) Department dated 28.02.2006 followed by G.O.(Ms)No.74 dated 27.06.2013, and that the impugned order was sustainable and had already been accepted and implemented by G.O.(2D)No.149, Environment, Climate Change and Forests (FR.2(ii)) Department dated 28.07.2025 (regularizing Thiru.G.Babu as Driver from the date of initial appointment by relaxing rule 2(a) of the Special Rule for the TNFSS, subject to the outcome of the writ appeal), the Court declined to interfere. Writ appeal dismissed; no order as to costs; connected C.M.P.No.5014 of 2026 closed.