Rajasthan High Court Made Serious Observations Regarding Question Paper Leaks

.Jaipur: While upholding the verdict of a single-judge bench regarding the cancellation of the Sub-Inspector (SI) recruitment process of 2021 in Rajasthan, the division bench of the Rajasthan High Court made serious observations on the issue of question paper leaks and appointments in the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC).

The division bench of Acting Chief Justice S.P. Sharma and Justice Shubha Mehta, on Saturday, delivered the judgment and dismissed the appeals filed by the government, the selected candidates, and the then-members of the RPSC, the agency that holds government recruitments in Rajasthan.

In its 211-page judgment, the division bench fledged the selection process of members of RPSC and said, "We notice that the members of the Public Service Commission are being selected at the whims and fancies of the Government in power without examining their integrity. Such selection has resulted in the cancellation of this examination.

The court asserted that the legislature ought to formulate specific guidelines for the selection of members to the state public service commissions.

“In fact, certain guiding principles ought to be laid down by the Legislature for selecting the Members of the Public Service Commission.

Earlier incidents of the Members of the Public Service Commission being involved in leakage of papers and lowering down the sanctity of the Public Service Commission in various

other States has been noticed even outside Rajasthan, such as Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) and Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission (UKSSSC) which demonstrates that paper leaks frequently originate from within the recruitment bodies themselves, involving commission officials and insiders, thereby undermining the integrity of the

entire selection process,” said the court.

Making observations, the Court said that it is the duty of the state to ensure a fair and transparent recruitment process. However, in the present case, the State has failed to discharge this duty." In its verdict, the court noted, "It shakes the entire conscience of the court of such examination, where the persons responsible for conducting the examination are found to be involved in malpractice."

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The court observed that the very faith of the public in the Public Service Commission has been put into question on account of the conduct of the members. The members are jointly and severally liable for such conduct. The state government and the Hon’ble Governor should take steps to get such members relieved from their duties. This would be a little step for maintaining the sanctity of the Public Service Commission.

Commenting in its judgment, the court observed, “The role of the RPSC chairman in this recruitment process remains suspect, particularly given that he permitted a member—who had previously been implicated in a paper-leak scandal—to participate in the interview panel.”

Notably, the examination to fill 859 vacancies of sub-inspectors and platoon commanders was held in September 2021. However, the exam was tainted by widespread allegations of paper leaks, proxy candidates, copying, and other unfair means. The state government had to hand over the investigation to the Special Operations Group (SOG), which arrested 122 persons, including 55 trainees and two members of the RPSC.