In Brief
The Supreme Court upheld the appointment of 21 Technical Assistants as Assistant Engineers in Tamil Nadu's Public Works Department, despite lacking formal amendment to statutory rules. The Court found that an executive order (G.O. No. 1 of 1990) validly included Technical Assistants as eligible candidates for transfer-based promotion if they possessed engineering degrees and five years of service. Since only 29 of 122 transfer vacancies had been filled by the primary eligible categories, the State reasonably appointed Technical Assistants to fill the remaining 93 posts. These appointments did not violate equality or merit principles, as they competed only for the 25% quota reserved for subordinate services, not the 75% reserved for direct recruits. The Court declined interference, citing 18 years of settled practice and minimal current impact as the appointees neared retirement.
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