Rajasthan HC grants interim relief in SI Recruitment 2021 re-exam case
Synopsis
The Rajasthan High Court has stepped in to give interim relief to candidates shut out of the SI Recruitment-2021 re-examination — those who applied but never appeared in both papers. With over four lakh such candidates in the balance and a constitutional equality argument on the table, the RPSC's eligibility filter is now under judicial scrutiny.
Key Takeaways
The Rajasthan High Court on 20 May directed RPSC to provisionally allow SI Recruitment-2021 petitioners to appear in the re-examination and edit their application forms.
The order was passed by Justice Anand Sharma on petitions by Prashanjeet Singh , Devendra Saini , Madhusudan Sharma , and others.
RPSC had restricted re-exam eligibility to 3,83,097 candidates who appeared in both papers; approximately 7.95 lakh had originally applied.
Petitioners argued the restriction violates Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, citing precedent from EO-RO and LDC re-examinations.
The SI Recruitment-2021 cancellation was upheld by a Division Bench on 4 April 2026 and confirmed by the Supreme Court on 4 May .
The Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday, 20 May directed the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) to provisionally allow petitioners to appear in the SI Recruitment-2021 re-examination, granting them an opportunity to edit their application forms. The order offers significant interim relief to candidates who had applied for the original examination but could not appear in both papers.
What the Court Ordered
The bench of Justice Anand Sharma passed the interim order while hearing petitions filed by Prashanjeet Singh, Devendra Saini, Madhusudan Sharma, and others. The Court directed the RPSC to provisionally permit the petitioners to sit the re-examination and to edit their application forms. Advocates Raghunandan Sharma, Rampratap Saini, Nikhil Kumawat, and Ravindra Saini appeared for the petitioners.
Petitioners' Arguments
Counsel for the petitioners argued that the RPSC was restricting re-examination eligibility only to those candidates who had appeared in both papers of the original examination held between 13 and 15 September 2021. They contended this was discriminatory, pointing out that in earlier cancelled recruitments — including EO-RO and LDC — all applicants were permitted to sit the re-examination.
The petitioners invoked Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, which guarantee equality and equal opportunity in public employment. They also noted that the RPSC had opened an application-editing window from 16 to 30 May through a press note dated 8 May, but had restricted access to candidates who had appeared in both papers earlier.
RPSC's Position
The Commission countered that more than four lakh candidates had merely filled out application forms in the original recruitment but did not appear for the examination. It argued that many of these individuals may now be employed elsewhere or may have stopped preparing, and that scrutinising nearly four lakh additional forms would be extremely difficult. Of the approximately 7.95 lakh candidates who had applied for SI Recruitment-2021, only 3,83,097 appeared in both papers of the written examination.
Background: Cancellation and Supreme Court Ruling
The SI Recruitment-2021 process was cancelled by a Single Bench of the Rajasthan High Court on 28 August 2025, a decision upheld by a Division Bench on 4 April 2026. Selected trainee SIs challenged the cancellation in the Supreme Court, but a bench comprising Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma dismissed the Special Leave Petition on 4 May, effectively confirming the cancellation and paving the way for the re-examination.
What Happens Next
The interim order is limited to the petitioners for now, and the matter is expected to come up for further hearing before the Rajasthan High Court. A broader ruling on whether all non-appearing applicants can participate in the re-examination could have significant implications for the nearly four lakh candidates currently excluded by the RPSC's eligibility criteria.
Point of View
Especially when the precedent from EO-RO and LDC recruitments cuts the other way. With over four lakh candidates potentially affected, this is not a peripheral dispute. If the Court ultimately rules in favour of broader inclusion, the RPSC faces a logistical challenge of its own making — one that could have been avoided with clearer re-examination policy at the outset.
NationPress
6 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did the Rajasthan High Court order in the SI Recruitment 2021 case?
The Rajasthan High Court directed the RPSC to provisionally allow the petitioners to appear in the SI Recruitment-2021 re-examination and to edit their application forms. The interim order was passed on 20 May by Justice Anand Sharma.
Why were some candidates excluded from the SI Recruitment 2021 re-examination?
The RPSC restricted re-examination eligibility to candidates who had appeared in both papers of the original written examination held in September 2021. Candidates who had applied but not appeared in both papers were excluded, affecting over four lakh applicants.
Why is the SI Recruitment 2021 being re-conducted?
The SI Recruitment-2021 process was cancelled by a Single Bench of the Rajasthan High Court on 28 August 2025. The cancellation was upheld by a Division Bench on 4 April 2026 and confirmed by the Supreme Court on 4 May after selected candidates' Special Leave Petition was dismissed.
What constitutional grounds did the petitioners raise?
The petitioners argued that excluding non-appearing applicants from the re-examination violates Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, which guarantee equality and equal opportunity in public employment. They cited precedent from the EO-RO and LDC cancelled recruitments, where all applicants were allowed to re-appear.
How many candidates applied for SI Recruitment 2021 and how many appeared?
Approximately 7.95 lakh candidates applied for SI Recruitment-2021, but only 3,83,097 appeared in both papers of the written examination conducted between 13 and 15 September 2021. The RPSC used appearance in both papers as the eligibility criterion for the re-examination.
