TN govt making changes to the seniority list of thousands of employees

The Tamil Nadu government is making changes to the seniority list of several thousand employees across various departments. This revision is being carried out in accordance with the rules of the TN Public Service Commission and a Supreme Court order dating back to March 10, 2003. As a result, it is estimated that around 500,000 employees will be affected by promotions and demotions.

Previously, Tamil Nadu followed a communal roster system with 200 points, which provided horizontal reservation for BC/MBC/SC/ST individuals in promotions within the state government. This system was introduced in June 1990. However, in April, the Supreme Court declared this system illegal in response to a contempt petition against the state. The court ordered the seniority list to be revised according to the service commission rules, using March 10, 2003 as the cut-off date. This date corresponds to when the Supreme Court first deemed the system illegal in the case of Bimlesh Tanwar vs State of Haryana.

The Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission has already begun sending the revised seniority list to departments, starting from group IV levels. They are now taking steps to implement the Supreme Court's order, as confirmed by an official from the Human Resources and Management department.

As a result of the revisions, several thousand employees who have held officer positions for years are expected to be demoted by one or two ranks in departments such as rural development, highways, revenue, police, treasury, commercial tax, and transport (motor vehicle), among others.

The process of granting promotions for group I and II posts, which has been delayed for the past two to three years in departments like rural development and highways, has finally begun. It is expected that orders for these promotions will be issued within the next two weeks.

It is worth noting that the Madras High Court had declared the roster system illegal in 2015. The system, introduced on June 22, 1990, initially used a 100-point roster to ensure fair representation for reserved communities in promotions. However, it was later converted to a 200-point roster system on September 15, 2007, based on representations from BC Christians and Muslims. This system allocated 31 positions for BC, 20 for MBC, 18 for SC, one for ST, and the remaining positions for unreserved categories, corresponding to the number of available promotion positions.

Promotions were allocated according to the order of the roster system, with the first 10 positions going to General turn (GT), SC (A), MBC, BC, GT, SC, MBC, BC, GT, and BC. Under the new system, if eight candidates from BC secure the first eight positions when 10 positions become vacant, all eight will be promoted based on TNPSC service rules. However, under the previous roster system, only three would have been promoted. Currently, promotions and demotions involving approximately 200 officers are taking place in the state highway and PWD departments.

Overall, the Supreme Court's order and the subsequent revisions to the seniority list are causing significant changes in the employment status of Tamil Nadu government employees across various departments.