Eligibility criteria for recruitment can be challenged only under circumstances showing arbitrariness or unreasonableness, with legislative discretion in defining categories being respected unless manifestly irrational.

JUDGMENT :

PRATEEK JALAN, J.

CM APPL. 45654/2025 (Exemption)

Exemption allowed, subject to all just exceptions.

The application stands disposed of.

W.P.(C) 11097/2025 & CM APPL. 45655/2025 (for direction)

1. Issue notice. Mr. Ramesh Babu, learned counsel, accepts notice on behalf of respondent No. 1 – The Reserve Bank of India [“RBI”]. Mr. Ravi Kant Srivastava, learned Senior Panel Counsel, accepts notice on behalf of the Union of India.

2. There are four petitioners in this writ petition, who all are serving at the level of Assistant Commandant/Deputy Commandant in various Central Armed Police Forces [“CAPF”], with more than ten years of service. They assail an advertisement issued by RBI in July 2025, by which eligibility conditions for the post of Assistant Manager (Protocol and Security) have been limited to ex-servicemen of the regular Army, Navy, and Air Force.

3. The very same issue came up for consideration in a writ petition filed by a similarly placed officer in the Border Security Force [“BSF”]. By a judgment dated 28.07.2025 in W.P.(C) 10662/2025 [Vikash Kumar vs. Reserve Bank of India Through Its General Manager & Anr.], this Court held as follows:

“6. Mr. Babu submits that the impugned decision is consistent with Rule 2(c) of the Ex-Servicemen (Re-employment in Central Civil Services and Posts) Rules, 1979 [“1979 Rules”] (as amended in the year 2020), which defines an “ex-serviceman” as follows:

“2. Definitions

(c) An ex-serviceman means a person-

(i) who has served in any rank whether as a combatant or noncombatant in the Regular Army, Navy and Air Force of the Indian Union and

(a) who either has been retired or relieved or discharged from such service whether at his own request or being relieved by the employer after earning his or her pension: or

(b) who has been relieved from such service on medical grounds attributable to military service or circumstances beyond his control and awarded medical or other disability pension: or

(c) who has been released from such service as a result of reduction in establishment: or

(ii) who has been released from such service after completing the specific period of engagement, otherwise than at his own request, or by way of dismissal or discharge on account of misconduct or inefficiency and has been given a gratuity; and included personnel of the Territorial Army, namely, pension holders for continuous embodied service or broken spells of qualifying service;

Provided that Short Service Commissioner officers released from service after completing initial terms of engagement otherwise than by way of dismissal or discharge on account of misconduct or inefficiency and have been given gratuity shall be eligible to the status of Exservicemen. or

(iii) personnel of the Army Postal Service who are part of Regular Army and retired from the Army Postal Service without reversion to their parent service with pension, or are released from the Army Postal Service on medical grounds attributable to or aggravated by military service or circumstance beyond their control and awarded medical or other disability pension: or

(iv) personnel, who were on deputation in Army Postal Service for more than six months prior to the 14th April 1987; or

(v) Gallantry award winners of the Armed Forces including personnel of Territorial Army;

(vi) ex-recruits boarded out or relieved on medical ground and granted medical disability pension.”

7. Paragraphs 4 and 5 of the affidavit filed on behalf of respondents further reads as follows:

“4. It is submitted that the Respondents have been recruiting only “exservicemen” for the posts of Assistant Manager (Protocol and Security) in its organi