Tall enough for constable, not for PSI? Gujarat high court flags height puzzle

AHMEDABAD: In 2019, Bonykumar Kapadia joined the Gujarat state police force as a constable after he cleared the physical efficiency test with 165cm height and running 5km in stipulated 25 minutes time. Six years later, his ambition to grow in his career by becoming a police sub-inspector hit the measuring-block as he was curiously found not to meet minimum height eligibility of 165cm in two subsequent physical exams.Kapadia finally shrank back from a third remeasurement after the Gujarat high court warned him that opting for it could cost him not just his promotion but the current post as constable as failing the third time could imply that Kapadia got his constable's job ‘fraudulently'. The court also asked his counsel if he thought his client was "shrinking".Kapadia, a constable since 2019, applied for the post of PSI in the ongoing recruitment drive. During the physical test, he didn't quite measure up. Officials declared him ineligible, saying he fell short of the minimum height of 165cm required for male candidates. Growth prospects at stake, Kapadia, along with several others, knocked on the doors of the Gujarat high court, seeking a remeasurement. The court allowed it, but with a caveat: The measurement would be done at Sola Civil Hospital, under videography, and the candidates would deposit Rs 10,000 each, to be forfeited if their claim failed. Kapadia fell short of the needed height yet again.On Feb 26, the high court disposed of the case after the petitioners' advocate withdrew the petition. For other petitioners, that was the end of the road, but Kapadia, unwilling to back down, returned to the high court on Thursday. His argument: He had been serving as a constable since 2019, a post for which the same height standard applies. If he had passed then, how could he fail now? This led Justice Nirzar Desai to ask Kapadia's counsel: "Do you think a person will start shrinking?"When the advocate questioned the accuracy of the earlier measurements, the court pointed out that the process had been conducted under videography. The court said it could order a third measurement, but if Kapadia failed again, his very appointment as constable too could come under scrutiny, and he may lose this post, too.The court said that a failure in the third attempt would imply that he had secured his constable's job fraudulently and asked if Kapadia was prepared to risk losing the job he currently held to chase the one he wanted. Playing safe, Kapadia withdrew his application.