Candidature cannot be rejected on the grounds of pending criminal case: Rajasthan High Court

The petitioner being eligible applied and participated in the recruitment process for the post of lower division clerk, at the time of document verification, petitioner was declared ineligible due to a pending criminal case under Sections 498A, 406, 323 and 494 of IPC arising out of matrimonial dispute with his wife. The court observed that the petitioner is merely under trial, and his fate is yet to be governed depending on the outcome of the trial.

Furthermore, possibility of a compromise between husband and wife cannot be ruled out at subsequent stage. That apart, rejecting petitioner’s candidature for the post is arbitrary, unreasonable and lacks proper consideration. In any case, pending criminal trial unless of course proven guilty by way of conviction, cannot bar appointment. The respondents in this S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 13198/2024 are directed to issue appointment letter to the petitioner and the petitioner shall also give an undertaking that in case, he is convicted in the criminal trial, he shall not claim equity on the basis of the instant order.