Senior RPSC Member Steps Down Following Court Criticism
In a significant development, Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) member Sangeeta Arya submitted her resignation to the state governor on Friday. The governor serves as the appointing authority for the commission, and Raj Bhawan sources have confirmed receiving her resignation letter.
Sangeeta Arya's resignation marks the second high-profile departure from RPSC within a short span, following member Manju Sharma's exit on September 3. Both resignations are directly linked to strong observations made by the Rajasthan High Court concerning their alleged involvement in recruitment irregularities.
Court's Harsh Remarks Trigger Resignations
The single bench of Justice Sameer Jain, while cancelling the controversial sub-inspector recruitment exam-2021 in August this year, made scathing remarks about several RPSC members. The court had noted alarming involvement of commission members in paper leaks and widespread irregularities.
Justice Jain specifically mentioned in the judgment: "What is more alarming is not only the involvement of RPSC members like Babu Lal Katara and Ramuram Raika, which is in itself unacceptable, but also the active connivance and involvement of several other members of the Commission, including Manju Sharma, Sangeeta Arya and Jaswant Rathi."
The court further stated that according to the charge-sheet, these members had complete knowledge of the transactions and malpractices occurring between commission members for personal gains.
Legal Challenges and ACB Investigation
Following the court's remarks, Sharma, Arya, and then RPSC chairman Sanjay Shrotriya filed separate petitions before the high court seeking removal of the observations against them. These pleas remain pending before the court.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has actively pursued investigations in the case. On November 10, the ACB summoned Arya in connection with the ongoing probe into the Executive Officer recruitment exam bribery case. However, she sought 15 days to appear, citing her involvement in ongoing interviews at RPSC.
The bribery case investigation originated in July 2023 when ACB arrested four individuals, including Gopal Kesawat, former chairman of Rajasthan's De-notified Nomadic and Semi-nomadic Tribe Welfare Board. The arrests followed allegations that Kesawat was caught taking bribes from candidates while promising help to clear the EO exam.
Commission Composition and Future Operations
With Arya's departure, the RPSC now operates with seven active members, including chairman Utkal Ranjan Sahoo. This is significantly short of the full commission strength of eleven members. Another member, Babu Lal Katara, remains under suspension following his arrest in a teachers' selection exam paper leak case.
Despite these challenges, RPSC secretary Ramniwas Mehta assured that operations would continue uninterrupted. "With the resignation of a member, there will be no problem in conducting upcoming RAS-2024 interviews because the commission has enough members to form the boards," Mehta stated.
The commission is scheduled to conduct crucial interviews for various recruitments in December. Current RPSC members include Lt Col (Retd) Kesari Singh Rathore, Kailash Chand Meena, Aiyub Khan, Sushil Kumar Bissu, Ashok Kumar Kalwar, and ex-IPS officer Hemant Priyadarshy.
Sangeeta Arya, appointed to RPSC on October 14, 2020, is the wife of former Rajasthan chief secretary Niranjan Arya. She was due to retire on October 13, 2026, but her tenure has been cut short by the ongoing controversies and investigations.
