Rajasthan High Court Warns Government Over Zero Cut-Off Policy for Reserved Categories
Court seeks explanation from State Government, citing concerns over basic standards in recruitment
India, March 6 – The Rajasthan High Court has raised serious concerns over the State Government’s decision to fix cut-off marks as low as zero for recruiting Class IV employees under reserved categories. Justice Anand Sharma described the situation as “shocking” and emphasized the need to maintain minimum standards even for entry level public service positions.
“The State, as the appointing authority, is expected to ensure that candidates meet basic competency standards. A person securing near-zero or negative marks cannot reasonably be considered suitable,” the court stated.
The order came in response to a writ petition highlighting that in a recent recruitment drive for Class IV posts, cut-off marks for some reserved categories were recorded as low as 0.0033. The petitioner’s grievance involved being rejected for securing negative marks, despite no minimum qualifying marks being prescribed.
The bench noted that either the examination was disproportionately difficult or proper recruitment standards were not followed. It directed the State counsel to submit an affidavit from the Principal Secretary explaining the rationale behind such cut-off marks and detailing steps to prevent similar issues in the future.
“If no satisfactory explanation is provided, the Court may take strict action and draw adverse inferences,” the bench warned. The matter is scheduled for further hearing on March 9.
