The interpretation of the proviso to Rule 2(2A) of the Rajasthan Civil Services (Absorption of Ex-Servicemen) Rules, 1988, regarding the eligibility of Ex-Servicemen for recruitment benefits.

JUDGMENT

1. This writ petition has been filed by the petitioner aggrieved against rejection of his candidature as Ex-Servicemen for recruitment on the post of Teacher Grade-III Level-1 pursuant to notification dated 31.12.2021.

2. It is, inter-alia, indicated in the writ petition that the petitioner, an Ex-Serviceman, who was retired w.e.f. 28.02.2019 (Annex.1), after retiring from the services applied for the post of Constable pursuant to the Recruitment-2019, wherein the petitioner was selected and accorded appointment by order dated 08.06.2021 and he joined on the same date.

3. Whereafter, advertisement dated 31.12.2021 (Annex.6) was issued by the respondents for the post of Teacher Grade-III Level- 1, wherein the petitioner participated in the recruitment as Ex- Servicemen and in the category of Ex-Servicemen, he obtained marks more than the cutoff meant for the said category and was called for document verification, however, after document verification, by order (Annex.9), the District Education Office rejected petitioner's candidature with the following observations:

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4. Learned counsel for the petitioner made submissions that rejection of petitioner's candidature for the reason indicated that as the petitioner had already obtained employment/benefit as an Ex-Serviceman, he is not entitled for the said benefit second time, is contrary to the applicable notification dated 22.12.2020 (Annex.13), which inter-alia provides that if an Ex-Serviceman had applied for various posts before joining any employment under the Government of Rajasthan and gave self-declaration to the concerned employer about the pending application(s), the restriction as imposed for second benefit, would not come in the way of the candidate. The petitioner while joining pursuant to the order of appointment dated 08.06.2021 (Annex.14) had clearly indicated that the petitioner has applied for Rajasthan Eligibility Examination for Teachers ('REET') and, therefore, the action of the respondents in rejecting petitioner's candidature is contrary to the express provision.

5. Submissions have been made that a bare look at the advertisement issued by the respondents for recruitment to the post of Teacher Grade-III Level-1 dated 31.12.2021 (Annex.6) would reveal that the employment was to be accorded based on the marks obtained at the REET-2021 only and as the petitioner had already intimated about the intention to appear for REET- 2021, at the time of entering the services, the action of the respondents in this regard cannot be sustained.

6. A response to the writ petition has been filed, inter-alia, indicating that the claim made by the petitioner based on proviso to Rule 2 (2A) of the Rajasthan Civil Services (Absorption of Ex- Servicemen) Rules, 1988 ('Rules'), has no basis. Submissions have been made that the requirement of the proviso is that Ex- Servicemen should have applied for the post before joining of the employment. The petitioner was accorded appointment on 08.06.2021 and the advertisement in question was issued on 31.12.2021 and, therefore, there was no reason for the petitioner to have sought permission in this regard. Further submissions have been made that insofar as having sought permission about REET is concerned, the said intimation would not enure in terms of proviso, as the REET is only eligibility test and not an application for employment and, therefore, rejection of petitioner's candidature by the respondents cannot be faulted. The petition, therefore, deserves dismissal.

7. I have considered the submissions made by the counsel for the parties and have perused the material available on record.

8. The provisions relevant for consideration of the issue raised by the petitioner inter-alia reads as under:

"(2A) Once an ex-serviceman has joined service