Rajasthan High Court Questions Recruitment After Candidates With Zero Marks Considered for Government Jobs

The Rajasthan High Court has raised serious concerns over the Rajasthan Fourth Class Recruitment 2024, where candidates who scored zero or even negative marks in the examination were reportedly being considered for government jobs. The issue came before the court during the hearing of a petition filed by Vinod Kumar.

Justice Anand Sharma expressed strong displeasure over the recruitment process and questioned how a candidate who fails to score even a single mark in the examination could be considered suitable for government service.

The court observed that government employment must maintain at least a basic standard of competence, regardless of the level of the post. It remarked that even for fourth-class positions, candidates must demonstrate a minimum level of ability to perform the assigned work satisfactorily.

During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel Harendra Neel argued that the applicant had applied under the ex-servicemen category, where the cut-off marks had reportedly dropped to 0.0033, effectively close to zero.

The counsel further submitted that since hundreds of vacancies remained unfilled, candidates who obtained negative marks should also be considered for appointment. According to the argument presented before the court, there was no substantial difference between candidates scoring zero and those scoring negative marks.

However, the court appeared unconvinced by this reasoning. It stated that allowing candidates with such scores to enter government service would undermine the basic credibility of the recruitment process.

The court also examined recruitment data placed on record, which revealed that the cut-off marks in several reserved categories had fallen to zero or nearly zero. These categories reportedly included widows’ quota, ex-servicemen, outstanding sports persons, and certain categories of persons with disabilities.

Justice Sharma pointed out that the situation raises two troubling possibilities. Either the examination paper was unreasonably difficult for a fourth-class recruitment test, or the recruitment system itself had lowered the standards to an unacceptable level.

During the proceedings, the court also expressed displeasure at the way different government departments attempted to shift responsibility for the issue. The General Administration Department stated that it only allocates departments to selected candidates, while the rules governing recruitment are framed by the Personnel Department and the recruitment board.

The court criticised this approach and described it as passing responsibility from one department to another.

Taking note of the seriousness of the matter, the High Court has granted the government one final opportunity to clarify the situation. The court directed the Principal Secretary of the concerned department to submit a detailed affidavit explaining the recruitment standards and proposing corrective measures.

The affidavit must be filed before April 7, failing which the court indicated that it may consider taking strict action in the matter.