The Rajasthan High Court has invalidated the results of the state’s major Class IV recruitment examination after questioning the fairness of the selection process. The court raised concerns over candidates being selected with zero marks while others with negative scores were denied appointment.

The recruitment drive covered more than 53,000 vacancies for fourth-grade government posts. Conducted in September 2025, the examination results were announced in January 2026. The hiring process had attracted widespread attention due to the long wait for a large-scale peon recruitment in the state.

Why the Court Intervened

The controversy emerged after several candidates belonging to reserved categories, including ex-servicemen, widows, divorced women, differently-abled applicants, and Saharia candidates, reportedly secured selection despite obtaining zero marks in the examination.

Meanwhile, some candidates with negative scores were not selected even though vacancies allegedly remained unfilled in their respective categories.

The matter reached the High Court through a petition filed by Vinod Kumar, an OBC ex-serviceman candidate, who argued that he was denied selection despite vacancies being available in his category.

Court Questions Recruitment Logic

During the hearing, the petitioner argued that the recruitment process lacked transparency because no minimum qualifying criteria had been established by the board.

Advocate Harendra Neel, representing the petitioner, stated that the absence of a defined passing benchmark created inconsistencies in determining merit.

Justice Anand Sharma also observed that without qualifying marks, it becomes difficult to justify how a candidate with zero marks could be treated as more suitable than someone who attempted questions but received negative marks under the evaluation system.

Fresh Merit List Ordered

Following the hearing, the High Court cancelled the recruitment result and directed the Rajasthan Staff Selection Board to establish proper qualifying standards for the examination.

The board has been instructed to prepare a revised result only after setting minimum eligibility criteria.

Candidate Reactions

The decision has triggered strong reactions among aspirants awaiting final appointments. Many candidates criticised the recruitment process, claiming that repeated delays and changing rules have created uncertainty among unemployed youth in Rajasthan.

As one of the state’s biggest government recruitment drives in recent years, the court’s ruling is expected to impact thousands of applicants waiting for appointments.