Sacked cooks of ADW hostels demand reinstatement citing Madras HC order

TENKASI: Around 140 cooks, who were recruited to student hostels run by the Adi Dravidar Welfare (ADW) Department during the previous AIADMK regime and later sacked by the DMK government citing over qualification, have urged the state government to implement the High Court order that set aside the decree of their termination.

When contacted by TNIE, ADW department secretary T S Jawahar said the chief minister, chief secretary and the minister concerned will decide whether to implement the High Court order or to file an appeal. “An official-level inquiry is being conducted to identify those responsible for recruiting ineligible candidates and they will have to face departmental action,” he added.

The cooks, most of whom belong to the SC/ST community, had worked at the ADW hostels for one-and-a-half years before their termination in May 2022. The government sacked them citing a circular issued by the ADW Commissioner in May 2020, which mandated that the candidates with a qualification not over SSLC fail can be selected for cook posts.

Setting aside the termination order in November 2022, the court observed, “As per the recruitment rules, the educational qualification prescribed for the post of cook is that the candidate must be able to read and write the Tamil language. Relevant rules have prescribed only minimum educational qualifications. There is no bar against those who are better qualified to take part in the requirement process.”

Sankarankovil-native Gomathi, who was among those terminated, said the press note published in some newspapers inviting applications for recruitment contained no information about maximum qualification. “The interviewers also did not raise any concern and selected me. But I was terminated later and the reason given was that I had managed to pass my SSLC exam. How is this fair? My husband is a construction labourer and we are finding it hard to run a home with his wages alone,” she told TNIE.

Anitha, another terminated cook, said the DMK government’s action has sent a wrong message to the SC/ST women who wish to pursue higher education. “I would have not completed a degree if I knew that it would take away my opportunities,” she added. Collectors of Kanniyakumari, Chengalpattu and a few other districts had earlier written to the ADW department against the termination decision.