In a significant development offering relief to the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) and close to one lakh candidates, a division bench of the Rajasthan High Court on Friday permitted the Assistant Professor Recruitment Examination to be held as scheduled from December 7. The bench set aside an interim stay order imposed earlier this week, clearing the uncertainty that had clouded the major recruitment drive.
Single Bench Stay and Petitioners' Grievances
The controversy began when a single bench of Justice Ashok Kumar Jain, on Wednesday, ordered a stay on the examination. The stay was granted after the court observed that the RPSC had failed to release the revised syllabus in a timely manner, thereby leaving candidates with insufficient time for preparation. The court had ruled that the commission must first publish the complete syllabus and only then conduct the exam, ensuring a minimum preparation window of 30 days for all aspirants.
The petitioners, a group of six candidates, had argued before the single bench that although the RPSC issued the recruitment advertisement in September 2024 for 574 posts across 30 subjects, and attracted nearly 92,600 applications, the commission withheld the updated syllabus. They contended that the exam was suddenly scheduled on short notice, putting them at a severe disadvantage. Taking a stern view, the single bench had also summoned the RPSC secretary to explain the delay, remarking that conducting an exam of such magnitude without proper notice was arbitrary and violated candidates' rights.
Division Bench Overturns Stay, Cites Logistical Concerns
However, during the hearing of the RPSC's appeal on Thursday, the division bench comprising Justice Inderjeet Singh and Justice Ravi Chirania took a different view. The bench noted that the petition challenging the examination was filed by only six candidates, which it deemed a negligible fraction compared to the total applicant pool of over 92,000.
The bench further pointed out apparent contradictions in the petitioners' arguments. It observed that the candidates had claimed both that the syllabus was not uploaded and, simultaneously, that the uploaded syllabus was too vast to prepare for in the given time. This inconsistency was a key factor in the bench's reconsideration.
In its defense, the RPSC informed the court that the updated syllabus was indeed uploaded on its official website on October 8, 2024. The commission clarified that the date March 26, 2025, printed on the document was merely an internal administrative reference and not the public release date. Crucially, RPSC stated that all logistical preparations for the massive examination were complete, including centre allocation and staff deployment. It argued that halting the process at this stage would result in a massive wastage of public funds and cause undue disruption for the vast majority of candidates who were genuinely preparing for the exam.
Examination to Proceed as Planned
Weighing the arguments, the division bench decided to vacate the stay order. With this verdict, the RPSC Assistant Professor recruitment examination will now be held as originally planned, commencing from December 7, 2024. The decision brings an end to the anxious wait for thousands of aspirants and allows the state's major recruitment process for college-level educators to move forward without further delay.
