N.Kathirvelu v. The Secretary to Government

O R D E R (Order of the Court was made by S.M.Subramaniam,J.) The present Writ Petition has been instituted, seeking re-fixation of pay of petitioner on par with his junior one M.Velmurugan / R7 herein.

¶2Registrar General has filed a counter affidavit, stating that the Competent Authority to decide pay parity / anomaly between two persons working in the Judicial Service is High Court. In this regard, Paragraph Nos.10 and 11 of the counter affidavit read as under: "10. As directed by the Hon'ble Court, details were called for with regard to the competent authority to go into the issue of pay parity and it is submitted that G.O.Ms.No.896, Personnel and Administrative Reforms (F.R.-I) Department dated 10.09.1986 reads as follows:

¶2The Government have examined the recommendation and they consider that powers can be delegated to Heads of Departments with the Page3 of 5 condition that cases may be sent to the Government for ratification within a month from the date of fixation of pay and if any mistake is noticed in fixation, the excess amount would be ordered to be recovered.

¶11It is therefore submitted that in this case, the Hon'ble High Court is the competent authority to go into the issue of pay parity/anomaly between two persons working in the Judicial Service."

¶3Though reason regarding ineligibility of petitioner has been stated in Paragraph No.8 of the counter, the Competent Authority may independently examine service records of individual and take a decision in accordance with law as expeditiously as possible. However, in the present case, the Competent Authority has not decided the issue on merits. The petitioner is at liberty to submit a fresh representation along documents to Competent Authority. With the above observations, the present Writ Petition stands disposed of. No costs. Consequently, connected Miscellaneous Petition is closed. (S.M.S.,J.) (N.S.,J.) 20-07-2026 Index: Yes/No Speaking/Non-speaking order AR Page4 of 5 S.M.SUBRAMANIAM,J. AND N.SENTHILKUMAR,J. AR To:

¶1The Secretary to Government Home (Courts-II) Department, Secretariat, Fort St.George, Chennai-9.

¶2The Registrar General High Court of Madras, High Court Campus, Chennai-104

¶3The Principal District Judge, Perambalur,

¶4The District and Sessions Judge, Mayiladuthurai District, Mayiladuthurai.

¶5The District and Sessions Judge, Tiruchirappalli.

¶6The District and Sessions Judge, Cuddalore. 20-07-2026 Page5 of 5

Page1 of 5 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS DATED: 20-07-2026 CORAM THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE S.M.SUBRAMANIAM AND THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE N.SENTHILKUMAR W.P.No.3001 of 2025 AND W.M.P.No.3283 of 2025 N.Kathirvelu … Petitioner -vs- 1. The Secretary to Government Home (Courts-II) Department, Secretariat, Fort St.George, Chennai-9 2. The Registrar General High Court of Madras, High Court Campus, Chennai-104 3. The Principal District Judge, Perambalur, 4. The District and Sessions Judge, Mayiladuthurai District, Mayiladuthurai. 5. The District and Sessions Judge, Tiruchirappalli. 6. The District and Sessions Judge, Cuddalore. 7. M.Velmurugan … Respondents Prayer: Calling for the records of the 4th respondent in connection with the impugned order passed by him dated 08.08.2023 and quash the same insofar as denying fixation of pay of Rs.83,800/- at par with his Page2 of 5 junior and further direct the 4th respondent to fix his pay at Rs.83,800/- at par with his Junior with effect from the date of joining in the post of Sherishtadar, draw and disburse the arrears salary. For Petitioner: Mr.K.Venkataramani, Senior Counsel For Mr.M.Muthappan For Respondent(s): Dr.R.Gouri, Govt. Counsel for R1 Mr.V.Vasanthakumar, AGP (Puducherry) for R2 to R6 No Appearance for R7 *****