The Supreme Court has clarified that candidates must possess the required educational qualification on the last date of application submission, not at a later stage in the selection process. The decision came while hearing appeals filed by the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC).
Background of the Case
The case arose from a recruitment drive conducted by the Rajasthan Public Service Commission for 181 posts of Assistant Prosecution Officer. As per the advertisement issued on March 7, 2024, applicants were required to hold a professional law degree.
Several candidates, who were in the final year of their law course at the time of applying, submitted applications despite not having completed their degrees. Although they later obtained their qualifications before the preliminary examination, the Commission maintained that they were ineligible.
The candidates approached the Rajasthan High Court, which ruled in their favour. Both the Single Judge and later the Division Bench directed the RPSC to allow such candidates to participate in the examination process.
Hearing the matter, the Supreme Court disagreed with the High Court’s interpretation of the recruitment rules and advertisement.
“The eligibility of a candidate is assessed based on the particulars furnished at the time of application,”
the bench observed, emphasizing that there is no provision allowing candidates to acquire qualifications after the application deadline.
The Court examined the Rajasthan Prosecution Subordinate Service Rules, 1978, and noted that an earlier provision allowing final-year candidates to apply had been deleted in 2002. This, the Court said, clearly reflected the legislative intent to restrict eligibility only to those who already possess the required qualification.
Rejecting the argument that eligibility could extend up to the date of examination or interview, the bench stated that such an interpretation would create uncertainty in the recruitment process.
“What cannot be done directly cannot be permitted to be done indirectly,” the Court remarked, reinforcing that candidates cannot bypass eligibility requirements by acquiring qualifications at a later stage.
The Court also found that the press note issued by the Commission in November 2024 did not change the rules midway but merely clarified the existing legal position.
Setting aside the Rajasthan High Court’s judgment dated August 12, 2025, the Supreme Court allowed the appeals filed by the Rajasthan Public Service Commission.
The Court held that only those candidates who possessed the required law degree as on the last date of application were eligible to participate in the recruitment process. Consequently, candidates who acquired their qualification after that date were deemed ineligible.
Case Details
Case Title: Rajasthan Public Service Commission vs Lavanshu Sankhla & Ors.
Case Number: Civil Appeal arising out of SLP (C) No. 32964 of 2025 & connected matters
Judges: Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta
Decision Date: May 4, 2026
