[2025:RJ-JD:34990]

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT JODHPUR S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 14474/2025 Jagriti Joshi D/o Shiv Shankar Sharma, Aged About 29 Years, Resident Of Basanti Bhawan, Street No. 7, Opposite Nagar Nigam, Hanuman Hatha, Bikaner (Raj.).

----Petitioner Versus

1. State Of Rajasthan, Through The Principal Secretary, Department Of Personnel (Group-III), Government Of Rajasthan, Secretariat, Jaipur.

2. Secretary, Rajasthan Public Service Commission, Ajmer.

----Respondents For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Harish Purohit with Mr. Shashank Sharma HON'BLE DR. JUSTICE NUPUR BHATI

Order

07/08/2025

1. The instant writ petition has been filed by the petitioner invoking Article 226 of the Constitution of India challenging the correctness, validity and propriety of the order dated 22.07.2025 (Annexure-1) passed by the respondent No.2-Secretary, Rajasthan Public Service Commission, Ajmer, whereby, candidature of the petitioner has been cancelled for the purpose of administrative and allied services on the ground that the petitioner was ineligible in the Category-Woman Divorce. Following are the prayer(s) of the petitioner in this writ petition:-

“It is therefore, respectfully prayer that this writ petition may kindly be allowed and by an appropriate writ, order or direction the order dated 22.07.2025 (Annex.-1) issued by respondent No.2 commission, may kindly be declared illegal and becomingly quashed and set aside. A direction may be issued to the respondents to appoint the petitioner in pursuance of the Advertisement dated 28.06.2023 (Annex.3) in the service, which petitioner is found meritorious to be appointed in General Woman Divorcee Category from the date person juniors are appointed and with all consequential benefits. ……..”

2. Factual prism of the case is that in the year 2016, petitioner solemnized marriage with one Saurabh Sharma as per the Hindu Rites and Rituals and unfortunately, the marriage did not prove to be harmonious and thus, resulted into dissolving of the said marriage on 11.05.2023 (Annexure-2) and an application seeking divorce also came to be filed under Section 13(B) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 before the competent court. During pendency of the divorce petition, an advertisement dated 28.06.2023 (Annexure-3) was issued for the purpose of appointment to State and Subordinate Services (Direct Recruitment by Combined Competitive Examination) Rules, 1999 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Rules of 1999’). In the meantime, marriage of the petitioner stood dissolved and was granted divorce decree on 30.11.2023. Thereafter, she applied for the above-said post in the category of “General Woman Divorcee” and the petitioner was declared eligible to appear for the preliminary examination and thereafter, was declared eligible to appear for the main examination vide result dated 20.10.2023 (Annexure-5). Thereafter, the petitioner was also declared qualified in the main examinations vide result dated 02.01.2025 (Annexure-6) and was also declared qualified for the Personality Test and Viva Voce Test. Call Letter was issued on 30.06.2025 (Annexure-7) for the purpose of appearing in the interview scheduled on 22.07.2025 to the petitioner but before that, the petitioner was required to submit a detailed application which was submitted by her on 16.01.2025 (Annexure-8). On the scheduled date, petitioner appeared for interview but was denied to appear for the same by the Interview Board and was informed that she has been found ineligible on the ground that she was not having the Divorce Decree on the last date of filing the application form and thus, being aggrieved of the same, the petitioner has filed the present writ petition.

3. Looking to the above-mentioned factual prism, it is submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner that rejection of the candidature of the petitioner on the ground that the petitioner was ineligible in the Woman Divorce Category, is arbitrary, perfunctory and bad in the eyes of law. While