Jaipur: In a significant development, the Rajasthan High Court has cancelled the 2021 Sub-Inspector (SI) recruitment examination, which was conducted to fill 859 posts, citing systemic irregularities in the conduct of the recruitment.
Integrity Of Selection Process Compromised
About a year ago, on August 13, petitions demanding the cancellation of the recruitment alleging widespread cheating were filed in the High Court. The division bench of Justice Sameer Jain had reserved the decision on August 14 after hearing the arguments of both sides.
Though the Court in its verdict acknowledged that many aspirants had appered in the exam honestly and expressed sympathy towards them, but observed that systematic irregularities have undermined the integrity of the entire selection process, leaving no plausible chance of segregation of tainted and untainted candidates.
“Candidates selected through corrupt means, leveraging unfair advantages and malpractices, cannot reasonably be expected to embody integrity, honesty, and transparency. Cancelling this recruitment would ensure a corruption-free process and convey authorities commitment to upholding integrity in public service.,” observed the Court.
The court has made serious observations about the role of members of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC), the recruitment agency.
Serious Observations Against RPSC Members
“The Hindi idiom, 'Ghar ka Bedi Lanka Dahay', aptly encapsulates the egregious circumstances surrounding the Sub-Inspector Recruitment Examination 2021, wherein the very guardians entrusted with safeguarding the sanctity of the process, namely the members of the RPSC, were instrumental in its vitiation. It is a travesty of monumental proportions that six members of the RPSC, tasked with the sacrosanct duty of protecting the interests of the public and masses, chose to betray that trust,” said the court in its order.
The division bench also treated the matter as a public interest litigation (PIL) concerning RPSC’s functioning and took cognizance of it.
Notably, two RPSC members, Ramu Ram Raika and Babulal Katara, have been arrested in the case with around 125 people, including paper mafia brokers candidates who purchased the leaked paper.
Government Opposed Scrapping Exam
The state government was not in favor of scrapping the recruitment and stated during the arguments that only 68 candidates were found involved in the paper leak. These included 54 trainee sub-inspectors, 6 selected candidates, and 8 absconding candidates.
The government added, “We are taking action against those involved in the paper leak. It is possible for us to distinguish between genuine and tainted candidates in the recruitment process.”
Selected Candidates To Appeal
On the other hand, the counsel representing the selected candidates argued that the Special Operations Group (SOG) was already investigating the case.
“We appeared for the exam honestly. Many of us resigned from other government services to take part in this recruitment. If the entire recruitment process is cancelled, it would be an injustice to us,” they contended, adding that they would certainly appeal against the order.
Political Differences Surface
The difference of opinion among the council of ministers on the issue came to the fore as well. The Agriculture Minister Kirori Lal Meena was constantly demanding the cancellation of the SI recruitment, while the government was not in favor of this. .
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Meena, after the High Court order, said, "My sentiments have always been with the protesting youths—in the past as well as today and I have the documents to prove that around 50 percent of candidates selected are fraudulent.“
