NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed an order of the Madras HC that halted the recruitment for 2,569 vacancies across 16 different posts in the Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) Department in Tamil Nadu.

A two-judge bench of Justices Manoj Misra and N Kotiswar Singh allowed the recruitment process to proceed, barring final selection for four posts. The bench issued notices to the petitioners, including S Sivakumar on whose plea the HC had passed the order on April 3.

“The effect and operation of the interim order dated 03.04.2025 passed by the Madras HC, to the extent it stays the entire selection process, shall remain stayed,” the bench said.

The Madras HC had earlier stalled the recruitment process on grounds that the state had failed to select four eligible candidates under the Persons Studied in Tamil Medium (PSTM) quota.

Senior Advocate P Wilson, appearing for the TN government, argued that the recruitment notification was issued on February 2, 2024, and attracted as many as 2,00,499 applicants. Following written examinations, document verification, and interviews, the counselling process was completed in April 2025.

Wilson further informed the court that the vacancies under recruitment constituted nearly 40% of the sanctioned posts in the department and were critical for the smooth functioning of the civic administration.