Eligibility for recruitment is determined as of the application date, and candidates must possess required qualifications by that date.

Order :

Application (I.A. No.02/2025):-

For the reasons stated in the application, the same is allowed. Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan Rajasthan Ayurved University is impleaded as party respondent No.5 to the writ petition.

Main Case:

1. Petitioners herein before this Court are seeking a direction to the respondents to permit them to participate in the selection process for the post of Compounder / Nurse Junior Grade pursuant to advertisement dated 10.12.2024 (Annex.6) while allowing them to submit their respective internship certificates at the time of document verification, if they fall in merit.

2. Briefly speaking, the relevant facts as pleaded in the petition are that the petitioners participated in the counseling scheduled for Ayush Nursing Diploma on 08.12.2021 and enrolled in said course. They are now at the final stage of said diploma, undergoing their internship. Respondent No.4, vide advertisement dated 10.12.2024, invited applications for the post of Compounder/Nurse Junior Grade, requiring candidates who meet the eligibility criteria by the last date of application. However, due to the delayed commencement of the petitioners' internship, reportedly caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, they have yet to complete their internship. As a result, they were held ineligible to participate in the recruitment process, despite fulfilling all other qualifications. Hence, this petition.

3. In the aforesaid backdrop, I have heard the rival contentions and gone through the case record.

4. First and foremost, my attention has been drawn to two judgments rendered by Coordinate Benches of this Court in Kusum Paridwal Vs. State of Rajasthan & Ors.: S.B. Civil Writ Petition No.11810/2021, decided on 02.09.2021 and Ramesh Chandra Ninama Vs. State of Rajasthan & Anr.: S.B. Civil Writ Petition No.2824/2022, decided on 10.03.2022 , wherein similar controversy has been put to rest, relevant parts of which, read as under :-

Kusum Paridwal

“14. Admittedly, petitioners have not completed their internship so far and process of document verification is commencing from first of September, 2021. By the date of document verification, neither will their internship be over nor can they get a degree of BAMS.

15. It is a settled proposition of law that eligibility of candidates including educational qualification has to be considered as on the date of submission of application form or as has been indicated in the recruitment notification.

16. The petitioners having taken part in the recruitment process cannot challenge the condition mentioned in the advertisement and pray that the relevant condition be relaxed by 2-3 months or the document verification be deferred till they complete their internship.

17. In the opinion of this court, but for the leverage given in the advertisement permitting the final year students to take part in the recruitment process, the relevant rules of the advertisement require BAMS degree. Merely because the State has given an indulgence to the final year students, petitioners cannot claim further indulgence that either the document verification be postponed or the condition be relaxed.

18. According to this Court, unless a person completes his internship and obtain BAMS degree from the University, he/she is not eligible/entitled to be appointed as Ayurved Medical Officer. Hence, the condition of producing proof of completing BAMS at the time of document verification is a valid condition.”

Ramesh Chandra Ninama

“A bare perusal of the record indicates that the petitioner had obtained eligibility qualification on 26.08.2021, whereas the last date of application was 23.07.2021.

The Division Bench of this Court in the case of Zaiba (supra), while dealing with identical issue pertaining to the Department of Medical & Health, inter-alia, came to the conclusion that in the recruitment of present nature, wherein the marks are to be awarded based on the qualification, the candidates have to be qualified on the last date of application and the direction gi