CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation challenging the recruitment process for 109 posts in the Arunachaleswarar Temple at Tiruvannamalai, holding that a PIL cannot be maintained against a selection process for appointments.
A petition was filed by TS Sankar of Tiruvannamalai stating that a notification dated January 27, 2025, had been issued for filling 109 posts at the Arunachaleswarar Temple, including typist, night watchman, Animal caretaker and electrician.
According to the petitioner, the tenure of the temple's Board of Trustees came to an end in July 2025. Subsequently, in August 2025, one Meenakshi Sundaram was appointed as the Fit Person (Thakkar) to administer the temple affairs.
The petitioner submitted that, based on the earlier notification, around 10,000 candidates had recently been called for interviews in February and a final selection list had reportedly been prepared. He therefore sought an interim direction restraining the authorities from making appointments to the 109 posts.
He further contended that in the absence of a duly constituted Board of Trustees, appointments could not be made and requested the Court to direct the authorities to appoint trustees and issue a fresh notification for the recruitment process.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice MM Shrivastava and Justice G Arul Murugan, after hearing the matter, held that a public interest litigation cannot be entertained to challenge a recruitment or selection process and accordingly dismissed the petition.