3 days ago
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A nationalist involvement litigation (PIL) petition has been filed successful the Madras High Court challenging a authorities bid (G.O.) issued connected December 24, 2025 for promoting 7 officers, including T. Udhayachandran, of the 1995 batch of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) to the people of Chief Secretary.
First Division Bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan person adjourned the proceeding connected the lawsuit to June 10, 2026 aft questioning arsenic to however a PIL petition could beryllium entertained by the tribunal connected an contented related to officers successful authorities service.
The judges told the petitioner’s counsel the Supreme Court, successful a catena of decisions opening from Dr. Duryodhan Sahu versus Jintendra Kumar (1998), had held that authorities work matters could not beryllium mostly raised earlier the law courts by mode of PIL petitions.
Further, stating that concerns related to officers successful authorities work could beryllium raised lone earlier the Central Administrative Tribunal oregon by mode of filing writ petitions earlier a azygous justice of the High Court, the judges said, the apical tribunal had clip and again clarified that PILs should not beryllium utilized arsenic a shortcut.
However, erstwhile the counsel sought clip for the quality of his elder to reason the matter, the judges adjourned the proceeding to June 10 aft taking enactment that Additional Solicitor General AR.L. Sundaresan, assisted by cardinal authorities elder sheet counsel C. Kulandaivelu, had entered quality connected behalf of the Centre.
The December 2025 G.O. had been issued for promoting IAS officers M.A. Siddique, R. Jaya, P. Senthilkumar, Sandhya Venugopal Sharma, Mr. Udhayachandran, Hitesh Kumar S. Makwana and B. Chandra Mohan to the Chief Secretary people of IAS with effect from January 1, 2026.
The G.O. besides accorded authorisation for instauration of impermanent posts of Additional Chief Secretary successful the departments of Economics and Statististics, Health and Family Welfare and School Education truthful that Ms. Jaya, Mr. Senthilkumar and Mr. Mohan could proceed to inhabit those positions astatine that constituent of time.
The G.O. besides stated Mr. Makwana shall basal promoted to Chief Secretary cadre without prejudice to his cardinal deputation arsenic Surveyor General of India. Then, Mr. Siddique and Mr. Udhayachandran were serving arsenic Managing Director of Chennai Metro Rail Limited and Finance Secretary respectively. Ms. Sharma was the chairperson of Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation.
However, the PIL petitioner M. Balakrishnan of Anna Nagar successful Chennai claimed the G.O. ought not to person been issued without concurrence/approval of the Centre and had listed the Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions arsenic good arsenic the Union Cabinet Secretary arsenic respondents to the case.
He sought a absorption to the Principal Accountant General’s bureau successful Tamil Nadu to refrain from paying higher salary, allowances, perquisites, arrears oregon different pensionary/monetary benefits to the 7 IAS officers connected the ground of the G.O. nether challenge.
