PGTRB:BOTANY CASE JUDGEMENT - W.P.No.28902/2014

PGTRB:BOTANY CASE JUDGEMENT - W.P.No.28902/2014

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

DATED :  03.07.2014

CORAM

THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE S.NAGAMUTHU

W.P.No.28902 of 2014

and

M.P.Nos.1 & 2 of 2014

P.Thenmozhi     ... Petitioner

vs.

1.The Secretary to the Government

of Tamil Nadu,

School Education Department,

Fort St. George,

Chennai 600 009.

2.The Member Secretary,

Teacher Recruitment Board,

DPI Campus, College Road,Nungambakkam,

Chennai 600 006.   ... Respondents

Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying for the issuance of a writ of mandamus directing the second respondent to appoint the petitioner in the post of P.G.Assistant, Botany. As per the advertisement No.2 of 2013, on 09.05.2013, by awarding additional marks for the register No.13PG13060192.

For Petitioner : Mrs.Dakshayini Reddy,

  for Mr.G.Anbarasu

For Respondents   : Mr.D.Krishna Kumar,

   Special Government Pleader

O R D E R

This writ petition has been listed before me as a specially ordered case on the orders of the Hon'ble the Acting Chief Justice dated 25.06.2014.

2.The Teachers Recruitment Board, Government of Tamil Nadu, conducted examination for direct recruitment to the vacancies for the year 2012-2013 for the post of Post Graduate Assistants/Physical Education Directors Grade-I, as per the Notification No.2 of 2013, on 09.05.2013.  The petitioner participated in the said examination.  Her Roll Number is 13PG13060192.  The question papers were in four series.  The questions were of objective type.  The petitioner was supplied with 'A' series question paper for the subject of Botany.  She has secured 93 marks.  According to the petitioner, for question Nos.31, 37 & 50 though, she had answered rightly, she has not been awarded each one mark to the said questions.

3.I have heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Special Government Pleader appearing for the respondents and I have also perused the records carefully.

4.It is brought to my notice by the learned Special Government Pleader appearing for the respondents that the correctness of the said question No.31  has been already decided by this Court in a earlier writ petition. Hence, further adjudication is not required in respect of the key answer for this question. 

5.Now, what remains to be adjudicated upon is question Nos.37 & 50 in subject Botany 'A' Series. Question No.37 reads as follows:-

76.The development of first foliage leaves after seed 

     germination

A) Cotyledonary leaf B) Prophyll

C) Hypophy II D) Scale leaf

6.According to the  Teachers Recruitment Board, option A (Cotyledonary leaf) is the right answer. But, according to the petitioner, option B (Prophyll) is the right answer. 

7.Today, three experts in the said subject are present before this Court who are Dr.Dorcus (Professor), from Quaid-e-Millath Government College, Chennai 600 002; Dr.A.Subashini (Professor), from Quaid-e-Millath Government College, Chennai 600 002 and Mrs.T.Vimala (Professor), from Quaid-e-Millath Government College, Chennai 600 002. This Court had the benefit of hearing them also. According to them, option 'A' (Cotyledonary leaf) is the right answer. Whereas, according to the  petitioner, option 'B' (Prophyll) is the right answer. 

8.The petitioner would submit that during seed germination the seeds are produced is two major parts such as radicle and plumule. The radicle is called as embroyonic root and plumule is called as Embryonic shoot. The embryonic shoot will produce foliage leaf (which under goes photosysthesis) is called Prophyll, (pro=first, Phyll=leaf). Therefore, according to the  petitioner, the first leaf after germination is only Prophyll. 

9.It is the further case of the petitioner that  cotyledonary leaf cannot undergo photosynthesis. A cotyledon of germinated seed  provides energy for germinating seeds. Therefore, according to the  petitioner, option A (Cotyledonary leaf) cannot be the right answer. In this regard, the petitioner has placed reliance on a book titled as   Objective Botany authored by Dr.N.P.Saxena wherein, the words   Cotyledonary leaf is defined.

10.Based on this, the learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that according to her, since  Cotyledonary leaf cannot undergo  photosynthesis, it cannot be the correct answer. She would further submit that after germination, the first leaf which is produced is only  Prophyll, whereas,  Cotyledonary leaf is produced at the time of germination itself. 

11.But, the experts who are present in Court would refute the said submission made by the learned counsel for the petitioner. According to them,   Prophyll leaf is the larger term into which  Cotyledonary leaf will fall. According to them,  Cotyledonary leaf though initially, do not have  chlorophyll to undergo  photosynthesis later on, they develop chlorophyll and thus undergo  photosynthesis. According to them, the earliest leaf which is produced after seed germination is only Cotyledonary leaf . In this regard, they have referred a standard book titled   Classification of Flower Plants authored by S.N.Pandey wherein, in page 127, it is stated as follows:-

The cotyledons, which are then termed epigeal, become green and spread to the light, and are the  first assimilating leaves.

12.In yet another book titled as Plant Anatomy , authored by Mr.Pande, it is stated that the origin of shoot organization is found in the hypocotyl and cotyledons are the first leaves. From these two books, the Experts would submit that option A (Cotyledonary leaf) is the right answer. 

13.I have considered the above submissions.

14.I agree with the opinion of the experts who are present in Court. As they have explained to the Court, it is crystal clear that Cotyledonary leaf  is the earliest leaf produced namely after germination.   Initially, these leaves do not have  chlorophyll but they develop chlorophyll later on and therefore, they also undergo the photosynthesis. In such view of the matter, I do not find any reason to disagree with the opinion of the Experts.

15.The next question to be decided in this writ petition is Question No.50 which reads as follows:-

50.Before mitotic division, cells get enlarged into _____ times that of its original size:-

A) 2 B) 8

C) 4 D) 16

16.According to the  Teachers Recruitment Board, option A (2) is the right answer. But, according to the petitioner, option C (4) is the right answer. 

17.According to the petitioner, all the living organisms  undergo two types of cell division such as mitotic cell division and meiosis cell division. Mitotic cell division takes place in vegetative cells and Meiosis cell division takes place in reproductive cells.  

18.Each mitotic cell division takes place in two major steps such as A)Interphase and B)Mitotic Phase. The petitioner further states that during interphase the cell gets prepared to produce two daughter cells by giving equal number of chromosomes to the daughter cells.  During interphase the cell replicate the number of chromosomes into two times and the size of the cell gets enlarged into four times in order to replicate the chromosomes into double. Thus, according to the  petitioner, option C is the right answer. 

19.But the experts, would refute the said submission made by the learned counsel for the petitioner. According to them, during interphase, no cell division takes place, actually, only during mitotic phase it takes place. In this regard, they refer to an authoritative book Cell and Molecular Biology written by E.D.P.De Roberties, E.M.F Robertis wherein, at page No.403, it is stated that Mitosis represents only a small part of the life cycle of a cell (about 1 hour in most cells). The cell spends most of its lifetime in interphase, the period during which it doubles in size and replicates its DNA. There are five phases. The first phase is G1  ; the second phase is S; the third phase is G2  and the fourth phase is mitosis and the fifth phase is G mitosis. According to the  petitioner,  before mitotic division, cells get enlarged into four times that of its original size. But a reading of the book does not say so. In view of the opinion of experts, which they have explained clearly as if, it was a classroom at University level, this Court, after having understood the same, finds no option but to agree with the experts. Thus, the challenge made by the petitioner has to fail.

20.Above all, the power of this Court to interfere with the decision of experts in respect of key answers has been elaborately dealt with in a number of judgments, about which, I need not elaborate.  I deem it suffice to refer to the judgment of the Honourable Supreme Court in Kanpur University vs. Samir Gupta and Others reported in (1983) 4 Supreme Court Cases 309, wherein the Supreme Court has held that if the key answer is demonstrably wrong, then, this Court has got power to interfere with the same.  Applying the said decision, we have to examine this case as to whether the key answer published by the respondents is demonstrably wrong. Here, in this case, the petitioner is not able to prove that the key answers pertaining to question Nos.37 & 50 in   A series are wrong. 

21.In view of all the above, the writ petition fails and accordingly, the same is dismissed. No costs. Interim order already granted shall stand vacated. Consequently, connected miscellaneous petition is closed. 

03.07.2014

jbm

Index : Yes

Note:- Issue copy on 15.07.2014.

To

1.The Secretary to the Government

of Tamil Nadu,

School Education Department,

Fort St. George,

Chennai 600 009.

2.The Member Secretary,

Teacher Recruitment Board,

DPI Campus, College Road,

Nungambakkam,

Chennai 600 006.

S.NAGAMUTHU,J.

jbm

W.P.No.28902 of 2014

03.07.2014