Judgment Intelligence
Disposed OfAnita Kumari v. Union of India & Ors.
2026:RJ-JP:42331
S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 18606/2023 and 10 connected petitions (S.B. Civil Writ Petition Nos. 12779/2020, 11763/2021, 14839/2021, 17917/2023, 18609/2023, 19256/2023, 19257/2023, 20576/2023, 77/2024 and 1027/2024)
- Court
- Rajasthan High Court
- Date of Decision
- 14 October 2026
- Bench
- Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand
- Relevant Acts & Sections
- Constitution of India — Article 226 (recruitment; medical fitness; parity)
Final Outcome
All eleven writ petitions disposed of: separate Medical Boards at Army Hospital (R&R), New Delhi to examine each petitioner; those found fit to be considered further and, if suitable and eligible, appointed in accordance with law, within six weeks; pending applications disposed of (paras 18-20).
Source Rajasthan High Court, hcraj.nic.in — order dated 14.10.2026
Key holdings
- The 'posts already filled' plea failed because the petitioners had approached the Court in time (paras 14-15).
- Delay caused by the pendency of the Union's unsuccessful special appeals on territorial jurisdiction cannot be held against the candidates (para 15).
- An unchallenged and implemented co-ordinate Bench order granting relief to similarly situated candidates was followed to avoid disparity and discrimination (paras 16-17).
- Separate Army Hospital (R&R) Medical Boards of at least three specialised officers will examine each petitioner after seven days' notice; their findings bind both sides (para 18).
Judgment digest by NyayVidhan: a summary of the court's judgment, not its text. The judgment itself is the authoritative version.
Brief Facts
The respondents, including the Sashastra Seema Bal, ITBP and CRPF, advertised Constable posts in trades from Driver to Barber and Waiter (para 5). The petitioners say they cleared the written and physical tests but were declared medically unfit, and sought re-examination and appointment (paras 3-4, 6). Some candidates had been examined outside Rajasthan; the respondents' territorial-jurisdiction objection was rejected on 31.01.2024, and the Division Bench dismissed their special appeals, led by Union of India v. Sunil Kumar, on 25.09.2026 (paras 7-9). Meanwhile, on 12.03.2026 a co-ordinate Bench in Saurabh Singh Sanket ordered fresh Army Hospital medical boards for similarly situated candidates (para 10). The respondents said the selection ended in 2024 and no posts were vacant (para 12).
Court's Findings
The Court found no substance in the plea that the selection process ended in 2024 and all advertised posts were filled, so that the petitioners could not be considered even if found fit (para 14). The petitioners were not at fault: they approached the Court within time, as soon as the cause of action arose (para 15). Any pendency followed the respondents' territorial-jurisdiction objection, rejected on 31.01.2024, and the Union's batch of special appeals, pending before the Division Bench until their rejection on 25.09.2026; the petitioners could not be blamed for that delay (para 15). The same argument was available to the respondents when the co-ordinate Bench decided the identical Saurabh Singh Sanket batch on 12.03.2026, yet relief was granted there (para 16). As stated at the Bar, that order was not appealed, attained finality and has been implemented (para 17). Since the petitioners' case was at par with those candidates, a different view would cause disparity and discrimination, so the Court issued the same directions (paras 17-18). The Court did not itself examine the medical reports; the fresh-board relief rests on parity with Saurabh Singh Sanket (paras 10, 17-18).
Legal Principle
Candidates who approached the High Court in time cannot be refused relief because the selection is over and the posts are filled, when the delay arose from the respondents' own unsuccessful appeals. Where a co-ordinate Bench order granting relief to similarly situated candidates has attained finality, the same relief follows to avoid disparity (paras 14-17).
Precedents Relied Upon
- Saurabh Singh Sanket v. The Union of India and Ors. S.B. Civil Writ Petition No.14897/2021
Co-ordinate Bench order of 12.03.2026 directing fresh Army Hospital (R&R) Medical Boards for similarly situated candidates; unchallenged and implemented, its directions were extended to the petitioners on parity.
- Union of India and Ors. v. Sunil Kumar DB Special Appeal (Writ) No.456/2024
Lead case of the Union's special appeals against the rejection of its territorial-jurisdiction objection, rejected on 25.09.2026; the delay during their pendency was not attributed to the petitioners.