The bench, headed by Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma, delivered its verdict while deciding the appeals filed by the selected candidates and the state government. File | Photo credit: The Hindu
In a landmark decision, a division bench of the Rajasthan High Court on Saturday (April 4, 2026) upheld the cancellation of the police sub-inspector recruitment exam 2021 while upholding the earlier order passed by the single judge bench. The exam was canceled due to widespread irregularities and paper leakage.
The bench, headed by Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma, delivered its verdict while deciding the appeals filed by the selected candidates and the state government. The court set aside the suo motu recognition passed by the single-judge bench against some members of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC).
In its 211-page judgment, the Division Bench said there should be “no political appointments” under the Commission and directed the state government to enact a new law governing the selection of the RPSC and ensure complete transparency in the recruitment processes.
“Shortlisting of candidates is no longer practicable at this stage. The recruitment exam of Sub-Inspector 2021 will therefore remain cancelled,” the Bench ruled.
A single judge, Justice Sameer Jain, on 28 August 2025 quashed the exam after finding widespread irregularities, paper leakage, impersonation of candidates and involvement of some RPSC members in fraud.
The examination to fill 859 vacancies of sub-inspectors and squad leaders was held in September 2021. Soon, allegations of a large-scale paper leak surfaced, prompting the state government to hand over the investigation to the Special Operations Group (SOG), which arrested 122 persons, including 55 trainees and two RPSC members.
The paper leak scam has been one of the major political issues during the 2023 state assembly elections and both the previous Congress government and the current Bharatiya Janata Party regime have faced criticism for handling the issue. However, the Cabinet sub-committee recommended against scrapping the recruitment process, saying only 6.3% of those investigated were found to be tainted by the SOG probe.
On 9 September 2025, the Division Bench temporarily stayed the order of the Single Judge Bench on appeal and directed that the selected candidates shall not be sent to the field till further orders. The matter was then referred to the Supreme Court, which asked the Division Bench to deliver a final judgment within three months.
Published – 04 Apr 2026 22:44 IST
