The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has upheld the right of a minority aided college to appoint teaching staff against posts that had already been sanctioned, holding that prior permission was not required merely to fill such vacant posts.
A Division Bench comprising Justice C. V. Karthikeyan and Justice R. Sakthivel delivered the judgment on August 28, 2026, while dismissing the State of Tamil Nadu's challenge to an earlier order concerning appointments at St. Joseph's College (Autonomous), Tiruchirappalli.
Background
The college had appointed seven Assistant Professors and one Librarian against sanctioned posts. The Director of Collegiate Education had declined to approve the appointments, citing, among other things, the absence of details concerning sanctioned posts, earlier incumbents, financial sanction, Form VIIA and the marks obtained by candidates during the selection process.
The college challenged the rejection before the High Court. After the Single Judge ruled in its favour, the State filed the present writ appeal.The Division Bench relied upon the earlier decision in P. Ravichandran v. State of Tamil Nadu, which had held that prior permission was not required for filling a vacant post in an aided college when the post had already been sanctioned for the academic year. The Court also noted that statutory requirements and prescribed qualifications continued to apply.
The Bench further observed:
"Once the posts have been sanctioned, then Article 30 of the Constitution of India protects the minority institutions from any interference with the administration. They have a right to administer the institution. One aspect of the administration is to appoint the teachers."
The Court noted that the State had not alleged the existence of surplus teachers and that the selection process had not been challenged. It also recorded that Form VIIA was not applicable to minority institutions.
The Division Bench found no merit in the State's writ appeal and dismissed it. The Court directed the appellants to comply with the Single Judge's directions within twelve weeks from receiving a copy of the judgment.
No costs were imposed, and the connected miscellaneous petition was closed.
Case Details:
Case Title: State of Tamil Nadu & Ors. v. The Secretary, St. Josephs College (Autonomous)
Case Number: W.A.(MD) No. 1355 of 2026
Judge: Justice C. V. Karthikeyan and Justice R. Sakthivel
Decision Date: 28 August 2026
