A petition has been filed before the Madras High Court challenging the appointment of astrologer Rickey Radhan Pandit Vettrivel as Officer on Special Duty (Political) to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay.
The matter was mentioned for urgent listing before a Vacation Bench of Justice Victoria Gowri and Justice N Senthilkumar. It is likely to be heard on Thursday.
Filed by practising advocate R Rathi, the plea sought issuance of a writ of quo warranto against Vettrivel, questioning the legal authority under which he occupied the post of OSD (Political) to the Chief Minister. As per the petitioner, atrologer Vettrivel had earlier predicted that Vijay’s party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), would emerge as a major political force and that Vijay would become the Chief Minister following the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
Alleging that the appointment was made solely as a reward for Vettrivel’s astrological predictions and lacked any statutory or constitutional basis, the petitioner termed the appointment as arbitrary, unconstitutional and contrary to established principles governing public employment.
The plea challenged the proceedings issued by the Public Department of the Tamil Nadu government on May 12, 2026, appointing Vettrivel to the post with effect from the date of assumption of office. It alleged that the appointment was made without inviting applications, framing recruitment rules, issuing a notification or conducting any transparent selection process. According to the petitioner, the appointment violated Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, which guarantee equality before law and equal opportunity in matters of public employment.
Reliance was also placed on the judgment of the Supreme Court in Secretary, State of Karnataka v. Uma Devi, wherein the Court held that appointments to public posts must conform to the constitutional scheme and cannot be made through backdoor methods.
The plea further stated that the appointment order was circulated to the Pay and Accounts Office and the Accountant General, indicating that the post was funded from the public exchequer. On that basis, the petitioner argued that the office required a lawful creation, the sanction of the post, a budgetary allocation, a prescribed pay scale, eligibility criteria, and a valid recruitment mechanism.
It pointed out that the appointment order was issued merely on the basis of an internal office note from the Chief Minister’s Office and was influenced by political considerations. It was further contended that the order did not specify the terms and conditions of appointment, allegedly to avoid judicial scrutiny and legal challenge.
The plea sought a declaration that Vettrivel’s appointment was unconstitutional, illegal, arbitrary and void. It further sought quashing of the appointment proceedings dated May 12 and interim injunctive relief restraining Vettrivel from functioning as Officer on Special Duty to the Chief Minister during the pendency of the proceedings.
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