Rajasthan HC cancels 2021 sub-inspector recruitment exam over paper leak allegations
Court was hearing petition filed by Kailash Chandra Sharma, 175 others, seeking cancellation of the exam after the Special Operations Group (SOG) arrested 122 people
Jaipur: The Rajasthan High Court on Thursday cancelled the 2021 sub-inspector recruitment examination, which aimed to fill 859 posts, amid large-scale paper leak allegations across the state.
A single bench of the high court (Jaipur bench), presided over by justice Sameer Jain, passed the order saying, “To uphold the Rajasthan Police’s motto of ‘Trust in the Public and Fear in the Criminals,’ cancelling the 2021 sub-inspector recruitment examination is imperative. This is necessitated by the fact that the tainted examination, plagued by malpractices yet to be fully uncovered, would erode public confidence in the police. Such an outcome would alarm both the public and State machinery, indicating a breakdown in trust crucial for effective policing and law and order maintenance.”
The decision comes days after a six-member sub-committee of the Rajasthan government, led by Parliamentary affairs minister Jogaram Patel, submitted a detailed report to the court stating that they were not considering cancellation of the exam as “it will be a premature decision.”
“Only a negligible proportion (6.3%) of the total candidates have been found cheating in the exam,” read the government’s report. It also said that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) is in a position to segregate the tainted and untainted candidates.
{{/usCountry}}“Only a negligible proportion (6.3%) of the total candidates have been found cheating in the exam,” read the government’s report. It also said that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) is in a position to segregate the tainted and untainted candidates.
{{/usCountry}}However, the court on Thursday ruled out the government’s claim and said, “An in-depth factual inquiry has revealed systemic irregularities in the conduct of the sub-inspector recruitment examination 2021, which has undermined the integrity of the entire selection process, leaving no plausible chance of segregation of tainted and untainted candidates.”
{{/usCountry}}However, the court on Thursday ruled out the government’s claim and said, “An in-depth factual inquiry has revealed systemic irregularities in the conduct of the sub-inspector recruitment examination 2021, which has undermined the integrity of the entire selection process, leaving no plausible chance of segregation of tainted and untainted candidates.”
{{/usCountry}}The court was hearing a petition filed by Kailash Chandra Sharma and 175 others in November, seeking the cancellation of the 2021 sub-inspector recruitment exam after the Special Operations Group (SOG) arrested 122 people, including 55 trainee sub-inspectors and two former Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) members — Babulal Katara and Ramu Ram Raika — in connection with the case. After a 10-month-long proceeding, the court, which had reserved its verdict for August 14, delivered the judgment today.
{{/usCountry}}The court was hearing a petition filed by Kailash Chandra Sharma and 175 others in November, seeking the cancellation of the 2021 sub-inspector recruitment exam after the Special Operations Group (SOG) arrested 122 people, including 55 trainee sub-inspectors and two former Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) members — Babulal Katara and Ramu Ram Raika — in connection with the case. After a 10-month-long proceeding, the court, which had reserved its verdict for August 14, delivered the judgment today.
{{/usCountry}}“The government must recommend to the RPSC to cancel the whole recruitment process. As soon as the RPSC decides and cancels the process as mentioned above, the appointments made on the basis of the previous process should be immediately cancelled by the government with all legal consequences, as noted above,” read the order copy seen by HT.
The court also said that the candidates of the 2021 batch should be included in the upcoming SI recruitment exam in September this year to provide the fair candidates with a second chance. “The RPSC should also be instructed to re-conduct the whole process under the same advertisement dated 3.02.2021, or by making alternative arrangements in the novel advertisement so issued vide notification dated 17th July 2025, on the basis of valid applications received in pursuance of that advertisement, deadline of which is September 08, 2025,” the court said in its order.
“To protect the interests of the candidates involved in the recruitment process, a sufficient number of posts should be advertised in the upcoming new recruitment examination, and relaxation in age eligibility should also be considered positively. To be fair to the applicants, reasonable time for preparation and appearing in the examination should be allowed,” it added.
Reacting to the development, additional advocate general (AAG) Vigyan Shah said, “The court had passed the verdict based on the SIT reports, advocate general’s report and also in view of the petitioners’ demands. We will review the order copy and then take further decisions.”
Senior advocate RP Singh, who represented the petitioners, said, “This case has been unusual in more than one way. This is the first time that the state government argued against its own investigating agency. This is the first time a committee of ministers, having arrived at a viewpoint after considering the findings of SOG and the opinion of the AG, reversed its own opinion when even more incriminating evidence was uncovered. It is surprising that the state should have made such strenuous efforts to defend a situation so absolutely indefensible. Hopefully, the gang operating in this field will get a firm message.”
Meanwhile, advocate for the successful candidates Dashrath Singh said they will appeal before a division bench of the high court. “Our candidates have qualified the exam and secured the jobs with fair means. Their future is now at stake. We will appeal before the division bench further.”
Apart from ex-RPSC members Katara and Raika, who were already arrested, the SOG — in its various chargesheets, which were also seen by HT earlier — had named other members, including Manju Sharma, Sangeeta Arya, Jaswant Rathi, former chairman Sanjay Shrotriya, and the then chairman Bhupendra Yadav. They were allegedly in touch with Raika and helped his children, Shobha and Devesh (arrested in September last year), qualify in the interview after the written test.
Additional director general of SOG, V.K. Singh, said, “Our investigation is underway. The court has delivered their verdict. Not only our investigation, but the public has also played a crucial role in it.”
