Police Service Rules | Candidates Who Met Advertised Fitness Criteria Can't Be Rendered Ineligible By Subsequent Amendment During Selection Process: Rajasthan HC

Recently, by highlighting the principle that the rules of a game can't be changed once it has begun, a division bench of the Rajasthan High Court has upheld a single-judge bench's decision to nullify the ineligibility accrued by a few candidates on account of a subsequent amendment to the applicable rules.

The division bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice Munnuri Laxman was adjudicating an issue that arose when a few candidates hailing from tribal areas were rendered ineligible for not meeting physical fitness requirements as a result of a subsequent amendment to Rajasthan Police Subordinate Service Rules, 1989.

“…at the time when the advertisement was issued, the provisions contained in Rule 14 of the Rules particularly the proviso and the prescription given under the advertisement made the respondents/writ petitioners eligible candidates…during the process of selection, all of a sudden, amendment was made in the Rules…”, the bench sitting at Jodhpur stated.

It was held that when the particular standard of fitness mentioned in the advertisement had made the petitioner candidates duly eligible, no subsequent amendment post the commencement of the recruitment process could make them ineligible.

It was argued that after the commencement of the recruitment process, the state government deleted the proviso to Rule 14(2) of the 1989 Rules that accorded certain relaxations to the candidates from hill and tribal areas as far as height and chest measurements were concerned.

The appellant state had earlier argued that the candidates could not have moved these writ petitions before legally challenging the advertisement or the rules. However, the division bench observed that it was well within their rights to do so.

It was observed that the advertisement never indicated that a candidate eligible on the date of applying can be held ineligible by a subsequent amendment in the Rules.

“…Since the right reserved to amend the rules was exercised by the appellant in the manner so as to hold the candidates ineligible long after the initiation of process of selection, the same was challenged by the petitioners. The occasion arose…only when the appellant sought to apply the amendment in the rules mid-way the process of selection, which adversely affected the respondent”, the court held.

Another contention raised by the state was the pendency of the legal issue involved before a larger bench of the Supreme Court. The question of whether the rules of the game can be altered once the selection process has begun is currently under consideration before the apex court.

The High Court observed that reference to a larger bench and its pendency alone would not negate the precedential value of a Supreme Court decision. The court also referred to the observations made by the apex court in Union Territory of Ladakh & Ors. v. Jammu and Kashmir National Conference & Anr., 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 749 to bolster the said proposition.

For Petitioners: Mr. Tapendra Singh for Mr. B.L. Bhati, AAG.

For Respondents: Mr. Shreyansh Mardia, Mr. Ripudaman Singh, Mr. Shambhoo Singh, Mr. Digvijay Singh Chouhan

Case Title: The State Of Rajasthan, Through Its Secretary, Home Department, Jaipur & Ors v. Aashish Kumar S/o Kalu Ram and Connected Matters

Case No: D.B. Spl. Appl. Writ No. 889/2022 & Other Matters

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Raj) 46

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