Rajasthan High Court - Jodhpur
Kusum Bairwa vs State Of Rajasthan ... on 21 April, 2025
Author: Manindra Mohan Shrivastava
Bench: Manindra Mohan Shrivastava
[2025:RJ-JD:19255-DB]
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT
JODHPUR
D.B. Spl. Appl. Writ No. 583/2025
Kusum Bairwa D/o Shri Ramdev Bairwa, Aged About 28 Years, R/
o 06, Dr. Amebdkar Colony, Opposite Dalda Mill, Bhilwara.
----Appellant
Versus
1. State Of Rajasthan, Through The Director, Ayurved
Department, Government Of Rajasthan, Ajmer.
2. The Registrar Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Rajasthan
Ayurved University, Kadwad, Jodhpur-Nagaur Highway
Road, Jodhpur -342037
3. The Principal Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Rajasthan
Ayurved University, Kadwad, Jodhpur-Nagaur Highway
Road, Jodhpur -342037
----Respondents
For Appellant(s) : Mr. P.R. Kumawat
For Respondent(s) : Mr. N.S. Rajpurohit, AAG
Mr. Suniel Purohit
HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. MANINDRA MOHAN
SHRIVASTAVA
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SUNIL BENIWAL
Order
21/04/2025 (per Beniwal, J.)
1. In the present appeal, the appellant has challenged the
validity of the order dated 04.03.2025, passed by the learned
Single Judge in S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 5089/2025.
2. The facts, in a nutshell, as narrated in the writ petition, are
that the appellant-petitioner applied for the post of Ayurved
Compounder/Nurse Junior Grade pursuant to the advertisement
dated 10.12.2024. The appellant-petitioner, while submitting her
application form online, indicated her marital status as 'divorcee'.
[2025:RJ-JD:19255-DB] (2 of 4) [SAW-583/2025]
It is contended in the writ petition that although the appellant-
petitioner was selected for the said post, however, her candidature
was rejected during document verification on the ground that she
could not be considered under the divorcee category, as the
decree of divorce obtained by her was dated 27.01.2025, i.e.,
after the last date for submission of the application form, which
was 15.01.2025.
3. Learned counsel appearing for the appellant-petitioner
submits that the learned Single Judge committed a serious error in
law by not considering the fact that she possessed the decree of
divorce on the date of document verification, which was held on
18.02.2025. He further submits that although the decree of
divorce was obtained on 27.01.2025 (after the last date of
submission of the application form), however, the advertisement
stipulates that documents would be considered at the time of
document verification. Therefore, the rejection of her candidature
by the concerned authorities was unjustified.
4. Per contra, learned counsels appearing for the respondents
submit that the conditions outlined in the advertisement were
specific, clearly stating that a candidate's eligibility for a particular
category would be determined based on the fulfillment of requisite
criteria as of the last date for submission of the application form.
Counsels for the respondents argue that since the decree of
divorce was obtained on 27.01.2025, i.e., after the last date of
submission of application form, i.e. 15.01.2025, the respondents
were fully justified in rejecting her candidature. In support of their
argument, learned counsels relied on a judgment passed by a
Coordinate Bench of this Court in D.B. Special Appeal (W) No.
[2025:RJ-JD:19255-DB] (3 of 4) [SAW-583/2025]
72/2022 (The Secretary, RPSC vs. Sangeera Varhat & Ors.), along
with another connected appeal decided on 10.11.2022, wherein an
identical issue was considered. Relying on the judgments of the
Hon'ble Apex Court and this Court, it was held that it is settled law
that suitability and eligibility must be determined with reference to
the last date for submission of applications, unless the notification
specifies otherwise. The Coordinate Bench further observed that
the requirement of a decree of divorce for a female candidate to
claim reservation under the divorcee category as of the cut-off
date/last date of submitting application form is sine qua non, and
the candidature cannot be considered under said category in the
absence of a decree of divorce issued by a competent court prior
to the last date of submission. Although the said case dealt with a
decree of divorce based on customary practice, nonetheless it was
specifically held that to claim divorcee status, the decree must be
obtained before the last date of submission of application form.
5. We have heard the rival submissions made by learned
counsel for the parties, perused the record and the judgment cited
at the Bar.
6. It is not in dispute that the last date for submission of the
application form pursuant to the advertisement dated 10.12.2024
was 15.01.2025. It is also undisputed that the appellant-petitioner
obtained the decree of divorce on 27.01.2025, i.e., after the last
date of submission of the application form. It is noted that
although the decree of divorce was obtained on 27.01.2025, the
appellant had declared herself as a divorcee while submitting her
application form online on 14.01.2025. As a matter of fact, on the
date of submission of her application form, the appellant-
[2025:RJ-JD:19255-DB] (4 of 4) [SAW-583/2025]
petitioner could not have claimed the marital status of 'divorcee'.
Be that as it may, we are of the considered opinion that the
appellant-petitioner could not have been considered under the
divorcee category pursuant to the advertisement dated
10.12.2024, on the basis of a decree of divorce dated 27.01.2025.
Furthermore, the submission of learned counsel for the appellant
that the divorce decree was to be submitted at the time of
document verification cannot be accepted, as the purpose of
document verification is to verify the credentials of the candidate
as submitted in the application form. However, this does not mean
that a divorce decree obtained after the last date for submission of
the application form should be considered. The judgment cited by
the learned counsels for the respondents is fully applicable to the
present case, and therefore, no further deliberation on the appeal
is warranted.
7. In view of the above, the present appeal, being devoid of
merit, is hereby dismissed.
(SUNIL BENIWAL),J (MANINDRA MOHAN
SHRIVASTAVA),CJ
20-skm/-
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