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2026 Supreme(Online)(Raj) 9324

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT JODHPUR

[2026:RJ-JD:14904]

S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 5750/2026

Rameshwar Vyas S/o Shri Lajpat Rai Vyas, Aged About 42 Years,
R/o 959 Near Vishwakarma Gate, Inside Ram Mandir Street,
Bikaner (Raj.).
----Petitioner
Versus
1. State Of Rajasthan, Through Its Principal Secretary,
Department Of Medical And Health Services, Govt. Of
Rajasthan, Jaipur.
2. Joint Secretary To The Government, Department Of
Medical And Health (Group-2Nd), Government
Secretariat, Jaipur.
3. Principal Secretary, Department Of Medical Education,
Government Secretariat, Jaipur.
4. The Commissioner, Department Of Medical Education,
Medical Education Bhawan, Govind Marg, Jaipur.
5. The Director (Public Health), Department Of Medical And
Health Services, Directorate, Health Bhawan, Jaipur.
6. The Chairman, M.d/m.s/d.m/m.ch Candidates Allotments
Board-2026, Sms Medical College, Jln Marg, Jaipur.
7. National Medical Commission, Through Its Secretary,
Sector 8, Pocket 14, Phase-1, Dwarka, New Delhi 110077.
----Respondents

For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Nrapen Shankar Acharya with
Mr. Jatin Khatri
For Respondent(s) : Mr. Tanuj Jain for
Mr. Mukesh Dave, AGC
Mr. Siddharth Tatiya with
Mr. Manan Mehta.

HON'BLE DR. JUSTICE NUPUR BHATI

01/04/2026

Advocates:
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Nrapen Shankar Acharya, Jatin Khatri
For the Respondents: Tanuj Jain, Mukesh Dave, Siddharth Tatiya, Manan Mehta

State circulars imposing new financial conditions cannot be applied retrospectively to ongoing recruitment processes, as altering the rules mid-way is impermissible; candidates are governed by the circular in force at the time of recruitment commencement.

Headnote:(A) Teachers Eligibility Qualifications Regulations, 2022 - Senior Residency Course - Allotment and Joining - State Government Circular dated 01.04.2025 vs 28.01.2026 - Retrospective application of rules - Doctrine of 'changing the rules of the game'.

(B) Writ Jurisdiction - Relief of NOC and Relieving - Petitioner qualified for Senior Residency but denied relieving by State authorities contrary to established circulars and precedents.

Facts of the case:
The petitioner, a Medical Officer, completed his MD/MS and secured a seat in a Senior Residency course. Despite following the proper channel and complying with State circulars, he was denied a relieving order and NOC to join the course. The petitioner sought a writ to compel the authorities to issue the necessary documents, arguing his case is covered by prior judicial precedents regarding the binding nature of the circular dated 01.04.2025.

Findings of Court:
The Court held that the issue is squarely covered by previous directives and that the circular dated 28.01.2026, which imposes onerous conditions like bank guarantees, cannot be applied retrospectively to recruitment processes that commenced before its issuance. The Court directed the respondents to release the petitioner in terms of the precedents established in similar cases.

Issues: Whether the state can impose new conditions retrospectively and deny relieving to a candidate selected for a Senior Residency course, contrary to the governing circular dated 01.04.2025.

Ratio Decidendi: Circulars issued by the State cannot be applied retrospectively to recruitment processes that have already commenced. Altering the 'rules of the game' mid-way without justification is impermissible. Since the petitioner's selection process was governed by the 01.04.2025 circular, subsequent restrictive circulars are inapplicable.

Result: Writ petition disposed of with directions similar to previous orders.

Order

1. The instant writ petition has been filed with the following prayers:

“xxxxx

(i) the respondent no.5, the Director (Public Health), Medical and Health Services, Jaipur may kindly be directed to pass necessary orders and permit the petitioner to pursue the one-year Senior Residency Course in pursuance of allotment order dated 05.02.2026 [Annex.9] and accordingly issue the NOC and necessary order of relieving them forthwith;

(ii) the impugned action of the respondent Director may kindly be declared illegal, unjust and contrary to the circular dated 05.07.2022 Annex. Anne 10 10 as as well as provisions of the Rules governing the law of land and as such, the same may kindly be quashed and set aside with all consequential benefits;

(iii) the respondents may kindly be directed to relieve the petitioner forthwith from present place of posting in terms of circular dated 05.07.2022 Annex.10 and also grant the appropriate leave as per the provisions of RSR, 1951, for pursuing their one-year Senior Residency Course in the respective allotted Govt. Medical Colleges;

(iv) the impugned order (verbal/ written) if any issued by the respondent Director/ State, during the pendency of present writ petition, the same may kindly be summoned from the respondents and may kindly be quashed and set aside with all consequential to follow;

xxxxxx”

2. Brief facts of the case, in nutshell, are that the petitioner, after completing his MBBS from a recognized medical institution, was appointed as a Medical Officer under the Rajasthan health services. Subsequently, he qualified NEET-PG 2022 and pursued a postgraduate medical degree (MD/MS), which he successfully completed in November 2025 and got duly registered. Under the prevailing Teachers Eligibility Qualifications Regulations, 2022, one year of Senior Residency after post-graduation is an essential requirement for appointment to the post of Assistant Professor. Accordingly, pursuant to the notification dated 31.10.2025 and subsequent corrigenda, the petitioner applied for Senior Residency and was duly selected, with allotment lists issued on 21.01.2026 and re-issued on 04.02.2026, directing candidates to join their respective institutions by 24.02.2026. In the meantime, the petitioner was posted as a Medical Officer at District Hospital, Barmer, where he joined duties in late January 2026. Despite being selected for Senior Residency and complying with the State Government circular dated 05.07.2022 by informing his controlling authority through proper channel, the petitioner was not relieved from his present posting. It is the petitioner’s case that similarly situated in-service candidates were granted relieving and permitted to join their Senior Residency, but he was denied the same, allegedly due to verbal instructions issued by the respondent Director. The petitioner made repeated representations to the concerned authorities seeking relief from his current posting so that he could join the one-year Senior Residency course within the stipulated time, however, no action was taken, even though failure to join by the prescribed deadline would result in automatic cancellation of his Senior Residency allotment and aggrieved of the above, the petitioner has filed the present writ petition.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the issue involved in the present writ petition is squarely covered by the order dated 16.02.2026 passed in SBCWP No.19839/2025 titled “Dr. Yash Vardhan Vs. State of Rajasthan & Ors.”. The relevant part of the order dated 16.02.2026 reads as under:-

“18. It is a matter of fact that no reply to the application under consideration or counter to the additional affidavit has been filed by the State.

It is not in dispute that the order which provides for submission of bank guarantee by the petitioners equivalent to the amount of service bond has been issued by the State of Rajasthan on 28.01.2026 and thus, there was no occasion whatsoever for any candidat

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