Madras HC Directs Chief Secretary to Ensure Speedy Disposal of Representations by Persons with Disabilities [Read Order]

Chennai: The Madras High Court has directed the Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu to issue a State-wide circular to all government departments mandating that representations, appeals, and applications submitted by persons with disabilities be considered and decided at the earliest.

The direction was issued while disposing of a writ petition filed by a visually impaired candidate whose statutory appeal for a community certificate had remained pending for nearly three years, severely affecting his employment prospects.

The matter was heard by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G. Arul Murugan.

The petition was filed by C. Somasundaram, a resident of Tirupattur district, who claimed to belong to the Kurumans Scheduled Tribe community and had applied for a community certificate for himself and his three daughters. His application was rejected by the Revenue Divisional Officer in December 2022, following which he filed a statutory appeal before the District Collector in January 2023. However, the appeal remained undecided for nearly three years. During this period, recruitment to government teaching posts was initiated, and the petitioner contended that if his appeal were allowed, he would be entitled to consideration under the Scheduled Tribe quota with a 1% reservation for blindness and low vision.

Taking serious note of the prolonged inaction, the High Court observed that the petitioner is a person with 40% visual disability and that, under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, the State has a bounden duty to ensure equality, dignity, and effective participation of persons with disabilities without barriers. The Court referred to Section 2(c) of the Act, which defines “barrier” to include communicational, cultural, institutional, and attitudinal factors that hinder participation in society. The Bench also relied on Article 41 of the Constitution and the Supreme Court’s ruling in Rajive Raturi v. Union of India to reiterate that the State carries an affirmative obligation to safeguard the interests of persons with disabilities.

The Court expressed strong disapproval over the Collector’s failure to decide the appeal for almost three years, describing the delay as “unfathomable,” and directed the Tirupattur District Collector to dispose of the petitioner’s appeal on merits within thirty days. While declining to direct that a post be kept vacant, the Court clarified that if the appeal is decided in favour of the petitioner, he would be at liberty to challenge any subsequent appointment made against the reserved post.

Importantly, the Bench issued a general direction to the Chief Secretary to issue a circular within one month to all State Government departments, directing them to ensure that appeals, applications, and representations submitted by persons with disabilities are given priority and decided without delay. The Registry has been directed to list the matter again on January 19, 2026, to verify compliance and to place the circular on record.

Appearance:
For the Petitioner: Mr. V. Elangovan, Advocate
For the Respondents: Mr. E. Vijay Anand, Additional Government Pleader

Case Title: C. Somasundaram v. The Chairman, Teachers Recruitment Board & Others, W.P. No. 47712 of 2025, decided on 8 December 2025

[Read Order]