The Rajasthan High Court has raised serious concerns over the unusually low cut-off marks in a recruitment process for Class-IV employees in the state. During the hearing, the court described the situation as “shocking” after it was informed that the cut-off for certain reserved categories went as low as 0.0033 marks, while a candidate’s application was rejected solely because he secured negative marks.
Hearing the matter, Justice Anand Sharma questioned the absence of minimum qualifying marks in the recruitment process and directed the state government to explain the situation through a detailed affidavit.
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Background of the Case
The case arose from a writ petition filed by Vinod Kumar, who challenged the rejection of his candidature in the recruitment process for Class-IV employees.
According to the petitioner, despite the recruitment notification not prescribing any minimum qualifying marks, his candidature was rejected because he had obtained marks below zero. At the same time, candidates in certain reserved categories were reportedly selected with cut-offs as low as 0.0033 marks.
The petitioner argued that the rejection was arbitrary because the recruitment rules did not specify a minimum score requirement for eligibility.
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Court’s Observations
During the hearing, the court expressed surprise at the facts placed before it and emphasized that public employment must maintain basic standards, regardless of the category of recruitment.
Justice Anand Sharma observed that allowing candidates with extremely low or near-zero marks to qualify raises serious questions about the quality of the recruitment process.
“The situation is shocking and calls for serious consideration by this Court, as it raises concerns about maintaining basic standards in public employment,” the bench noted.
The court further stated that the government, as the appointing authority, has a responsibility to ensure that even entry-level employees possess the minimum capability required to perform their duties.
“A person who secures near zero or negative marks cannot reasonably be considered suitable,” the court observed.
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Questions Raised on Recruitment Standards
The bench also pointed out that the situation could indicate two troubling possibilities - either the examination was unnecessarily difficult for an entry-level post, or the recruitment authorities failed to maintain appropriate standards while conducting the selection process.
Both possibilities, the court noted, were unacceptable in public recruitment.
The court further remarked that no proper explanation had been provided for why minimum qualifying marks were not fixed in the examination.
Court’s Direction
Taking note of the issue, the High Court directed the Additional Advocate General appearing for the state to submit an affidavit from the Principal Secretary of the concerned department.
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The affidavit must explain:
- The reasons behind fixing such extremely low cut-off marks
- Why no minimum qualifying marks were prescribed
- What corrective steps the government proposes to take to prevent such situations in future
The court warned that if a satisfactory explanation is not provided, it may treat the matter seriously and pass strict orders while drawing adverse inferences.
The matter has been listed for further compliance on 9 March 2026.
Case Title: Vinod Kumar v. State of Rajasthan
Case No.: S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 3098/2026
Decision Date: 18 February 2026
