Courts Can't Prescribe Or Expand Eligibility Qualifications For Recruitment: Rajasthan High Court Reiterates

The Rajasthan High Court has dismissed a batch of writ petitions filed by candidates seeking appointment to the posts of Assistant Professor (Vyakaran), Assistant Professor (Sahitya) and Assistant Professor (Samanya Sanskrit), holding that courts cannot expand the eligibility qualifications prescribed under the recruitment rules.Justice Ganesh Ram Meena observed that the State, as an employer, is the best judge of the qualifications required for recruitment and that the Court cannot read into the rules qualifications that have not been prescribed.The petitions were filed by candidates who possessed NET (Sanskrit) or SET (Sanskrit) qualifications but did not hold NET or SET certificates in the specific subjects of Vyakaran, Sahitya and Samanya Sanskrit. Their grievance was that the respondents had not considered NET (Sanskrit) or SET (Sanskrit) as the requisite qualification for recruitment to the posts of Assistant Professor in those subjects.The petitioners contended that some persons possessing NET (Sanskrit) or SET (Sanskrit) had previously been engaged by the Department of Sanskrit Education as guest faculty to teach the very subjects for which recruitment had been initiated through an advertisement dated January 12, 2024.It was further argued that, having studied subjects such as Vyakaran, Sahitya and Samanya Sanskrit and cleared NET (Sanskrit), the petitioners possessed sufficient knowledge and could not be treated as ineligible for the posts.Opposing the petitions, the respondents submitted that the qualifications prescribed in the recruitment advertisement were in consonance with the Rajasthan Sanskrit Education (Collegiate Branch) Service Rules, 2022, and that the petitioners did not possess NET or SET qualifications in the concerned subjects for which they had applied.Accepting the respondents' submissions, the Court observed,“It is the basic principle of service jurisprudence that the right of prescribing the educational qualification for recruitment to a particular post vested with the employer. Employer is the best judge to prescribe the requisite qualifications for recruitment to a post considering the duties and the work to be performed by the selected/appointed candidates.”The Court also relied on earlier decisions of the Supreme Court and the Rajasthan High Court to reiterate that courts, while exercising jurisdiction under Article 226, cannot supplement or expand the qualifications prescribed under statutory rules.Addressing the petitioners' argument regarding the appointment of guest faculty, the Court held that even if persons lacking the requisite qualifications had been engaged as guest faculty, such appointments could not form the basis for regular recruitment. The Court observed,“In case, the respondents have engaged any candidate without having requisite qualification as provided under the Rules, such appointments of guest faculty cannot be made basis for the regular recruitment without holding qualification of NET or SET in that particular concerned subject.”Noting that the advertisement as well as the 2022 Rules specifically required candidates to possess NET or SET qualifications in the concerned subject, the Court held that the petitioners, who admittedly lacked such qualifications, could not be permitted to participate in the recruitment process.Accordingly, the writ petitions were dismissed.Title: Vinod Kumar v State of Rajasthan, and other connected petitionsCitation: 2026 LiveLaw (Raj) 294Click Here To Read/Download Order

Courts Can't Prescribe Or Expand Eligibility Qualifications For Recruitment: Rajasthan High Court Reiterates

Nupur Agrawal

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Nupur Agrawal

Courts Can't Prescribe Or Expand Eligibility Qualifications For Recruitment: Rajasthan High Court Reiterates

Nupur Agrawal

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