Government letter cannot override government order: Madras High Court while allowing teacher's re-employment

MADURAI: “A government letter cannot override a Government Order,” observed the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court while disposing of a retired teacher’s petition seeking direction to be reemployed. Though the teacher was eligible for reemployment as per a G.O., her claim was rejected based on a government letter, which declared her ineligible.

Justice J Nisha Banu passed the order on a petition filed by P Thamilarasi, who was a Graduate Assistant (Zoology) in the Government Higher Secondary School, at Samuthirapatti in Dindigul.

The judge stated, “A statutory provision will prevail over administrative instructions; administrative instructions issued in the name of the Governor will prevail over any administrative orders issued by the government, and not in the name of the Governor.” Relating this with the present petition, justice Banu held that the petitioner fulfilled the conditions drawn in the G.O. (passed on February 13, 1981) issued in the name of the Governor. Hence, the petitioner cannot be rejected citing a subsequent government letter (dated August 13, 2008), which was not passed in the name of the Governor, she stated.

With the above observation, the judge upheld the interim order passed by the Court in favour of the petitioner, based on which she had been allowed to be reemployed till the end of the academic year for a period of 11 months. Further, taking into account that the petitioner has not yet been paid salary for her work during the above period despite a lapse of more than five years, justice Banu directed the school education department to disburse the pending salary of the petitioner with interest within a period of eight weeks.