Isabella Mariam

The High Court of Rajasthan Single Bench of Justice Farjand Ali has directed the State authorities to shift a batch of police constables drawn from notified tribal areas to the Maharana Pratap Battalion at Pratapgarh and, subject to administrative needs, to post or deploy them in districts falling within the TSP region. The case concerned recruits who had applied under a tribal sub-plan category for a Mineral Protection Force but were appointed in a different cadre and kept in non-tribal postings. Holding that the government cannot offer location-specific prospects at the recruitment stage and later abandon them without rational cause, the Court recognised that such advertisements create a legitimate expectation of posting in or near the areas for which the recruitment was framed.

The petitioners, permanent residents of the Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) area, invoked the writ jurisdiction of the Rajasthan High Court under Article 226 challenging the State authorities’ inaction in considering their transfer to TSP regions. An advertisement dated 20.07.2013 was issued for 1000 posts of Constable in the Minerals Protection Force, including 80 posts earmarked for TSP areas. The petitioners applied under the TSP category, cleared the selection process, and were appointed on 19.01.2016. However, they were placed in the Non-TSP cadre and later confirmed by order dated 16.04.2018. Subsequent circulars dated 10.11.2014, 16.07.2018 and 30.08.2018, issued in the backdrop of a Central Government notification dated 19.05.2018 redefining Scheduled/TSP areas, invited TSP-resident employees serving in Non-TSP regions to opt for transfer, pursuant to which the petitioners submitted representations.

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The petitioners contended that denial of consideration for transfer, despite their eligibility and timely representations, is arbitrary, discriminatory and violative of Article 14, particularly when similarly situated constables were given transfers. The State, in reply, asserted that the petitioners were validly appointed in Non-TSP areas based on merit, vacancy position and administrative requirements; that the option forms did not confer an absolute right; that the 2018 notification only redefined areas; and that transfers remained subject to administrative discretion and limited vacancies. The petitioners, in rejoinder, reiterated reliance on the advertisement and the cited circulars to support their claim.

The Court recorded that “all the petitioners belong to the TSP area” and that the recruitment process had specifically carried reservation for candidates from tribal regions. The Court observed that the petitioners “participated in this process under that very reservation, were selected, and thereafter stood regularised and made permanent.” It noted that after Standing Order No. 18/2015, the cadre created for the Department of Mines and Geology was merged into the 14th Battalion, RAC, and the petitioners “came to be placed in Jaipur.”

Referring to the recruitment nature, the Court recorded that the petitioners belonged to tribal communities and were from notified tribal districts such as Dungarpur, Banswara, Salumbar, Udaipur, and Rajsamand. It observed that they had entered service under the “legitimate belief that their deployment would also be in the tribal/mineral-rich belts.” The judgment recorded that contrary to this expectation, “none of them have ever been posted in these regions.” The Court noted the respondents’ admission that although the recruitment was titled “Mineral Protection Force,” “not a single employee recruited under this process has been deployed in the Mineral Protection Force.”

All employees recruited through the process stood “permanently absorbed in the 14th Battalion, RAC, and are serving largely on office security duties in places such as Jaipur.” The Court stated that “a legitimate expectation can, without doubt, arise in the mind of a candidate at the time of entering service” where an advertisement suggests linkage to tribal/mineral areas. The Court recorded that the petitioners, being from vulnerable tribal communities, “deserved at least a measure of sympathetic consideration.”

It further observed that the State “cannot extend an attractive promise at the stage of recruitment and later altogether depart from it without any rational justification.” The Court stated that equity required consideration of the petitioners’ residential status and the scheme’s design, particularly as the circulars of 2014 and 2018 contemplated transfer of TSP-resident employees posted in Non-TSP areas.

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The Court directed that “to balance equities and to ensure that the petitioners are not left remediless, the respondents are directed to consider shifting all the petitioners to the Maharana Pratap Battalion, Pratapgarh. In case of administrative exigencies, they shall be suitably adjusted, transferred, deployed, or temporarily lodged in any district falling within the TSP area, as may be required from time to time. No order as to costs.”

Advocates Representing The Parties

For the Petitioners: Mr. Manvendra Singh, Ms. Saumya Choudhary
For the Respondents: Mr. Raj Singh Bhati for Mr. Ritu Raj Singh Bhati, Mr. Paramvir Singh

Case Title: Nakul Patidar & Ors. v. State of Rajasthan & Ors.
Neutral Citation: 2025: RJ-JD:50788
Case Number: S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 10154/2019
Bench: Justice Farjand Ali