The Rajasthan High Court has scrapped the 2021 police sub-inspector recruitment exam citing massive paper leak irregularities. The court said the integrity of the selection process was compromised and referred RPSC members’ role for further scrutiny.
Jaipur: The Rajasthan High Court has cancelled the Rajasthan Police Sub-Inspector Recruitment Examination 2021 after finding serious irregularities and a large-scale paper leak. The order was passed on Thursday by Justice Sameer Jain, who had earlier reserved the judgment on August 14 after hearing detailed arguments from all sides. The matter had been pending before the court for almost a year.
The case was initiated on August 13, 2024, when a group of candidates filed a petition demanding the cancellation of the recruitment process.
They alleged that the examination was marred by widespread paper leaks and irregularities, which had caused injustice to thousands of genuine aspirants.
In its decision, the High Court held that the integrity of the recruitment process had been compromised beyond repair. The court said that in such circumstances, continuing with the process would not be appropriate.
The order also referred the role of members of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) to a division bench for further scrutiny, as allegations were made that some officials were directly involved in the scam.
Senior advocate Major R P Singh, who represented the petitioners, welcomed the judgment and said,
“Illegality and fraud on the system was so conspicuous. It is strange that the state government did not take action any decision on the subject. The court’s decision hopefully will act as a deterrent for the gangs playing with the future of youths.”
The 2021 recruitment was announced by the RPSC to fill 859 posts of Sub-Inspector and Platoon Commander. However, soon after the exam was conducted, allegations of paper leak surfaced.
The investigation was handed over to the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Rajasthan Police. Over 50 trainee sub-inspectors were arrested along with several others accused of being part of the leak.
Also Read: BREAKING | Governor Does Not Represent The Union of India. He Represents The President: Centre Tells Supreme Court
Despite the controversy, the then BJP-led state government had decided not to cancel the exam. The issue even became a major political debate during the 2023 assembly elections. A cabinet sub-committee, in its report to the court, had also recommended that the exam should not be cancelled.
During the hearings, the state government argued that irregularities were found in the collusion of only 68 candidates—54 trainee SIs, six selected candidates, and eight absconding accused.
It told the court that cancelling the entire recruitment would be unfair while the SOG investigation was still ongoing. The government submitted that strict action was already being taken against those found guilty instead of punishing all candidates.
The selected candidates, through their counsel Tanveer Ahamed, strongly opposed the cancellation. They argued that they had cleared the exam honestly and many had even resigned from their existing government jobs to join the police service.
According to them, cancelling the entire recruitment process would cause irreparable harm to their future. Ahamed said after the judgment that
“they would certainly appeal against the order.”
In his detailed ruling, Justice Jain made it clear that the foundation of any recruitment process must be fairness and credibility. He observed that once doubts had been raised about the integrity of the exam, it was not proper to allow the recruitment to continue.
Justice Jain observed in his order,
“The integrity of the selection process was paramount, and if doubts were raised about it, continuing the recruitment was not appropriate,”
The cancellation of the 2021 SI recruitment has brought relief to thousands of petitioners who were fighting against corruption in the system, but at the same time, it has created uncertainty for many selected candidates who now face the prospect of starting over.
A detailed order from the High Court is awaited.
Click Here to Read Our Reports on Paper Leak
FOLLOW US ON YOUTUBE FOR MORE LEGAL UPDATES
