RAMESHWAR CHOUDHARY Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) At the outset it is clarified that the present D.B. Special Appeal (Writ) No. 931/2024 has been preferred by the appellants assailing the order dtd. 11/9/2024 passed by the learned Single Judge at the Principal Seat, Jodhpur, in S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 13295/2024 (Rameshwar Choudhary & Ors. v. State of Rajasthan & Ors.). It is pertinent to note that another writ petition, S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 13461/2024 (Ramratan Gurjar & Ors. v. State of Rajasthan & Ors.), was filed before the Jaipur Bench of this Hon'ble Court raising identical questions of law and fact arising out of the same recruitment process for the post of Veterinary Officer conducted pursuant to the advertisement dtd. 22/10/2019. Since both matters pertain to the same selection process and involve common issues concerning the prescription of minimum qualifying marks, they were ordered to be heard together and connected vide order dtd. 17/1/2025, for the sake of uniformity and to avoid conflicting decisions.

(2.) The brief facts leading to the filing of the present appeal are that the appellants-writ petitioners had approached this Court by way of S.B. Civil Writ Petition No.13295/2024 laying challenge to the selection process undertaken by the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) for the post of Veterinary Officer, pursuant to an advertisement dtd. 22/10/2019. The grievance of the appellants-writ petitioners was primarily directed against the fixation of a minimum qualifying threshold of 45% marks in aggregate for the Physically Handicapped Category, which according to them, had not been notified in the original advertisement.

(3.) Learned counsels for the appellants-writ petitioners, Mr. R.N. Mathur, Senior Advocate assisted by Mr. Hanuman Singh Choudhary with Mr. Foja Ram, Pradeep Kumar, Pradeep Singh & Mr. Vikas Balia, Senior Advocate assisted by Mr. Sachin Saraswat, Mr. Raghunanadan Sharma, Mr. Abhinav Srivastava, Ms. Kritika Rajawat, Mr. Ayush Bishnoi, assailed the impugned order dtd. 11/9/2024, contending that the learned Single Judge has dismissed the writ petition on misconceived and unsustainable premises without properly appreciating the pleadings, documentary material, and the legal position governing recruitment to the post of Veterinary Officer. It was urged that the findings of the learned Single Judge are contrary to the settled principles of administrative fairness, transparency in public employment, and the doctrine of legitimate expectation.