Eligibility for promotion under the Rajasthan High Court Staff Service Rules is based on grade rather than specific post, but mere financial upgradation does not confer entitlement to promotion.

JUDGMENT :

BALJINDER SINGH SANDHU, J.

1. Petitioners have preferred the present writ petition with following prayers:-

“It is therefore most humbly and respectfully prayed that this Hon'ble Court may graciously be pleased to accept and allow this writ petition and further it is humbly prayed that:

(i) by an appropriate writ, order or direction the action of the respondents of not considering the petitioners as eligible for the recruitment by promotion through qualifying test for the vacant posts of Assistant Stamp Reporter and Court Fee Examiners in pursuance of advertisement dated: 27-08-2025 (Annexure: 03) be declared arbitrary, discriminatory, illegal, wrong and void.

(ii) by an appropriate writ, order or direction the respondents be directed to consider the petitioners as eligible employees of Rajasthan High Court and allow the petitioners to participate and submit in prescribed form in the recruitment by promotion through qualifying test for the vacant posts of Assistant Stamp Reporter and Court Fee Examiners in pursuance of advertisement dated: 27-08-2025 (Annexure: 03) in accordance with Rule (4-A) Assistant Stamp Reporter and Court Fee Examiners of the Rajasthan High Court Staff Ser-vice Rules, 2002 (Annexure: 04)

(iii) by an appropriate writ, order or direction the respondents be directed that in case the petitioners are found eligible as per their qualifying test or any other eligibility as required then the petitioners be granted promotion on the post of Assistant Stamp Reporter and Court Fee Examiners with all consequential benefits flowing thereof.

(iv) any other relief which the Hon’ble Court deems fit be passed in favour of the petitioners.

Hence, the petitioner aggrieved of the same, prefers the present Writ Petition. Hence, this Writ Petition.”

2. Petitioners herein were initially appointed to the post of Library Restorer. Thereafter, they were further granted benefit of 1^st Assured Career Progression (ACP) on completion of nine years of continuous service vide order dated 06.07.2022, and petitioner no. 4, thereafter has been promoted to the post of cataloguer-cum-classifier vide order dated 04.06.2025.

3. Reproduced below is the table showing the status of the petitioners as set out in Para 2 of the petition:-

4. The petitioners have approached this Court stating that the respondents issued Advertisement dated 27.08.2025 under the Rajasthan High Court Staff Service Rules, 2002 (for short “the Rules of 2002”) inviting applications for recruitment by way of promotion through qualifying test for the post of Assistant Stamp Reporter and Court Fee Examiners (L-11 in Pay Level-37800-119700 & Grade Pay 4200/-) on the criteria of Seniority cum Merit. The Advertisement included the list of eligible candidates, however the names of the petitioners were not included. It is stated that clause (4-A) of the order dated 05.12.2002 issued under the Rules of 2002, provides for the recruitment to the post of Assistant Stamp Reporter and Court Fee Examiners (herein after referred to as Assistant Stamp Reporter) by promotion from amongst the Judicial Assistants or Officials in the equivalent or above grade, but below that grade of Assistant Stamp Reporter. The Judicial Assistants are placed in the grade, now Pay Level-08, and the Assistant Stamp Reporter is placed at Pay Level-11 in the pay matrix. The petitioners after