Appointment Under Sports Quota Can't Be Denied For Representing University Outside State: Rajasthan High Court Grants Relief To Candidate

Rajasthan High Court granted relief to a candidate who sought appointment to the post of Teacher under “Outstanding sports Person” category, earlier denied the benefit on the ground that certificate issued to her for participating in the Championship was for representing Haryana and not Rajasthan.In doing so the court referred to the advertisement and said that the essential requirement was participation in any individual or team event in an All Indian Inter University Tournament duly recognized by the Association of Indian Universities; it nowhere stipulated that such participation must necessarily be while representing Rajasthan alone.The Court was hearing a petition in which the petitioner was selected for the post in the category of Outstanding Sports Person, however was not granted the appointment raising doubts over validity and recognition of the certificate issued to her.It was argued that while it was not disputed that petitioner is bonafide resident of State of Rajasthan, yet she was deprived of benefit of Outstanding Sports Person only for the reason that the certificate has been issued for participating in Inter-University Cricket Championship while representing State of Haryana.The bench of Justice Anand Sharma referred to the case of coordinate bench, Imran Khan v. State of Rajasthan, and held that it was settled that once a candidate had participated in the prescribed tournament, the benefit of reservation could not be denied on the ground that the candidate represented a University or Institution situated outside of Rajasthan. While terming it an audacious attempt to undermine the binding direction given by the Court, the Court held that the State was bound to follow the ruling in the aforementioned judgment.Referring to the clause in the advertisement the court said:"Bare perusal of the aforesaid clause makes it abundantly clear that for claiming reservation under the said category, the essential requirement is participation of the candidate in any individual or team event in an All Indian InterUniversity Tournament duly recognized by the Association of Indian Universities. The clause nowhere stipulates that such participation must necessarily be while representing State of Rajasthan alone. Rather, the language employed in the provision is broad and unqualified, thereby indicating that eligibility is attached to participation in the recognized tournament itself and not to the particular State represented by the candidate.Therefore, once a candidate has participated in the prescribed tournament, the benefit of reservation cannot be denied merely on the ground that the candidate represented a University or Institution situated outside the State of Rajasthan. Any such restrictive interpretation would defeat the plain and literal meaning of the clause".The counsel for the State submitted that as per the circular dated January 8, 2020 issued by the State Government, intention of the concerned rule was to promote such Outstanding Sports Person who had represented Rajasthan. Hence, benefit could not be granted to the petitioner. In relation to the circular referred to by the State, the Court held that any such circular/letter could not override the express provisions of the Rules or notification of the State of Rajasthan.The Court highlighted the findings in the Imran Khan case, and opined that despite such clear rulings by this Court in the case, it seemed like the concerned authority had attempted to overreach the view taken by the Court, and had deprived the petitioner of her legitimate rights in a mechanical manner. Accordingly, the petition was accepted, and the petitioner was found eligible under the concerned category. Title: Mamta Kumari v the State of Rajasthan & Anr. Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Raj) 219Click Here To Read/Download Order

Appointment Under Sports Quota Can't Be Denied For Representing University Outside State: Rajasthan High Court Grants Relief To Candidate

Nupur Agrawal

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Nupur Agrawal

Appointment Under Sports Quota Can't Be Denied For Representing University Outside State: Rajasthan High Court Grants Relief To Candidate

Nupur Agrawal

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Nupur Agrawal

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