Judgment

1. By way of filing this writ petition, the petitioner has prayed for issuance of a direction against the respondents to appoint the petitioner on the post of Patwari under divorcee category pursuant to Advertisements dated 20.02.2025 and 20.06.2025 issued by Respondent No. 3-Rajasthan Staff Selection Board (hereinafter to be referred as ‘the respondent-Board’) with all consequential benefits.

2. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the respondent-Board issued an Advertisement No. 2/2025, whereby, applications were invited from eligible candidates for recruitment on the posts of Patwari. It is further submitted that the petitioner earlier entered into marriage with one Bahadur Rawat Meena on 25.04.2021. However, on account of marital discord, differences occurred between the petitioner and her husband. Accordingly, as per the customs prevailing in the caste of the petitioner, one agreement for taking divorce dated 14.02.2025 was executed between the petitioner and her husband in order to formally declare that the petitioner and her husband have dissolved their marriage.

3. It is further submitted that the aforesaid advertisement was issued on 20.02.2025 and as such, by virtue of agreement for taking divorce dated 14.02.2025, on the date of issuance of advertisement, the petitioner was a divorcee. However, for the purpose of seeking formal declaration, a civil suit was filed by the petitioner against her husband for seeking a decree of dissolution of marriage, which was granted by the Court of Civil Judge, Nimbahera, District Chittorgarh vide judgment and decree dated 29.07.2025.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioner further submits that pursuant to aforesaid advertisement, the petitioner applied in the category of divorcee on the basis of aforesaid agreement for taking divorce dated 14.02.2025 and was, thus, eligible to be considered under the aforesaid category. However, only on account of the fact that the decree of divorce has been issued by the competent court of law after the last date of submitting application form, the petitioner was not treated as divorcee by the respondents.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that even otherwise, decree of divorce was granted to the petitioner by the competent court of law before the date of examination, which was scheduled on 17.08.2025. It is further submitted that under the aforesaid circumstances, where as per the customs prevailing in the caste of the petitioner, although she was not required to obtain a formal decree of divorce and the agreement for taking divorce dated 14.02.2025 was sufficient to confer status of divorcee upon the petitioner, yet only for the purpose of records, civil suit was filed by the petitioner for obtaining formal declaration of dissolution of marriage. Hence, for all practical purposes, agreement for taking divorce dated 14.02.2025 should be treated as the document to establish the fact of divorce between the petitioner and her husband. Therefore, the respondents have committed serious error of law in not considering the date of agreement for taking divorce (14.02.2025) as the date of divorce of the petitioner and the candidature of the petitioner has been rejected erroneously, which is causing serious prejudice and miscarriage of justice to the petitioner.

6. Learned counsel for the petitioner, in support of his arguments, relied upon judgment dated 19.01.2022 passed by Division Bench of this Court in the case of Parul Khurana vs. High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan at Jodhpur & Another (D.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 1004/2022)

7. Per contra, learned counsel for the respondents opposed the writ petition and submitted that recruitment on any civil post in any government service is regulated by the recruitment rules as well as the terms and conditions of the advertisement. In the instant case, it was specified in the advertisement itself that the candidates applying in the category of divorcee