HC seeks RPSC reply on eligibility for rescheduled SI recruitment

Jaipur: The Rajasthan High Court Monday issued notices to the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) over petitions challenging the eligibility criteria fixed for the reconduct of the Sub-Inspector (SI) Recruitment-2021 examination scheduled for Sept this year.

Hearing petitions filed by Devendra Saini, Prashanjeet Singh and others, the single-judge bench of Justice Anand Sharma directed the commission to submit its reply by May 20.

The petitioners argued that although they had applied for the original SI Recruitment-2021 examination, they could not appear in both papers due to various reasons. However, after cancellation of the recruitment process and announcement of a fresh examination, the RPSC decided to allow only those candidates who appeared in both papers of the original examination to participate in the re-exam.

Counsel for the petitioners, Ravindra Saini, submitted before the court, “In our case we have maintained that due to isolation for Covid-19, the petitioners could not participate in the exam held on Sept 13, Sept 14 and Sept 15, 2021. Also, some other candidates had other health issues. Thus, they should be allowed to participate in the newly announced SI recruitment.”

“The decision is discriminatory and violated Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, which guarantee equality before law and equal opportunity in public employment,” he added.

In a similar plea, petitioner Rampratap Saini argued that in earlier cancelled recruitments, including the EO-RO recruitment examination, the RPSC permitted all original applicants to appear in the fresh examination irrespective of whether they had appeared earlier.

The petitioners also referred to an RPSC press note issued on May 8, under which only candidates who appeared in both papers in 2021 were allowed to edit application forms between May 16 and May 30.

According to official records, around 7.95 lakh candidates had applied for SI Recruitment-2021, while 3,83,097 candidates appeared in both papers held between Sept 13 and 15, 2021.