Case Note & Summary
The appellant, V. Jayabal, filed a writ petition before the Madras High Court seeking to categorize the post of Animal Husbandry Assistant as a skilled post and to regularize his scale of pay with consequential benefits. The writ petition was dismissed by the learned single judge on 10.11.2025. Aggrieved, the appellant filed an intra-court appeal under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent. The Division Bench, comprising Justice S.M. Subramaniam and Justice N. Senthilkumar, heard the appeal. The court noted that the grievance of the appellant was that his request to categorize the post as skilled was declined by the authorities and the writ court. The court observed that the declaration of a post as skilled or unskilled is a policy decision of the government. The writ court had found that the post of Animal Husbandry Assistant does not require an ITI qualification and does not involve specialized technical skill, and therefore cannot be compared with trade or technical posts. The Division Bench found no acceptable reason to reconsider the decision of the writ court and dismissed the appeal with no order as to costs.
Headnote
A) Service Law - Classification of Posts - Skilled vs Unskilled - Policy Decision - The classification of a government post as skilled or unskilled is a policy decision of the government and not subject to judicial review. The court held that the post of Animal Husbandry Assistant does not require an ITI qualification and thus cannot be compared with trade or technical posts. (Paras 2-3) B) Service Law - Writ Jurisdiction - Scope of Interference - The High Court in writ jurisdiction cannot direct reclassification of a post as skilled when the post does not involve specialized technical skill. The writ court's dismissal was upheld as no interference was warranted. (Paras 3-4)
Issue of Consideration
Whether the post of Animal Husbandry Assistant should be categorized as a skilled post and whether the writ court erred in dismissing the petition seeking such reclassification.
Final Decision
The writ appeal is dismissed. No costs.
Law Points
- Classification of government posts as skilled or unskilled is a policy decision
- Courts cannot interfere with policy decisions
- Post requiring no technical qualification cannot be treated as skilled
