The Madras High Court has dismissed an appeal filed by the Tamil Nadu government challenging the appointment of a teacher in a minority educational institution and imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh on the state. The court directed that the fine amount be paid to the concerned school within four weeks and allowed the government to recover the amount from the official responsible for denying the appointment.
The case pertains to a vacancy in the Urdu department at Madrasa-e-Azam, a government-aided primary school in Tirupattur district. Hajira was appointed to the post in 2022, and the school administration had requested government approval for the appointment. However, the District Elementary Education Officer refused approval in 2023, citing the teacher’s lack of qualification under the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET).
In March 2024, the High Court ruled in favour of Hajira, stating that TET requirements do not apply to minority institutions. Despite this, the Director of Elementary Education and others filed an appeal. A division bench comprising Justices R. Subramanian and K. Surender dismissed the appeal, observing that the issue had already been settled by the court.
The bench also noted that the appeal amounted to a waste of judicial time and public resources and held that the fine could be recovered from the official who issued the original denial order.
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