The Madras High Court recently penalized the Tamil Nadu government with a fine of ₹5 lakh for filing baseless appeals to avoid paying salary arrears to a group of assistant professors who were appointed in 2009.

A Bench comprising Justices R Subramanian and L Victoria Gowri of the Madurai Bench imposed the fine, condemning the State for the "atrocious game" it was playing with its citizens. The Court expressed hope that these exemplary costs would discourage the government from filing similar writ appeals in the future.

The case involved a series of 10 writ appeals filed by the State last year, challenging a single judge's order that had directed the government to pay the pending salaries of assistant professors from 2009 onwards.

According to the order, the State government had appointed a group of assistant professors for government colleges in Tirunelveli district in 2009. However, the appointments were only officially approved by the Joint Director of Collegiate Education on March 11, 2020, with the appointments being backdated to 2009.

The very next day, State authorities issued a notification canceling these appointments without providing any reasons for the cancellation. Ten of the affected assistant professors challenged this cancellation in the High Court. While the matter was still pending, the Director of Collegiate Education withdrew the cancellation order and reaffirmed their appointments. Consequently, the single-judge directed the government to pay their salaries and arrears.

During the hearing of the current appeal, the State informed the Bench that it lacked sufficient funds to pay the arrears owed to the assistant professors.

The Court, however, rejected the State's submission, expressing surprise at the claim. Consequently, it imposed a cost of ₹50,000 on the State for each of the 10 appeals. The Bench directed that ₹25,000 from each appeal be paid to the respective assistant professors, with the remaining amount to be donated to a local cancer care foundation.