- (1.) Under advertisement dated 10.10.2014, the Registrar (Examination), Rajasthan High Court, Jodhpur invited applications from eligible candidates to be considered for appointment as Driver with Rajasthan High Court & Rajasthan Legal Service Authority. As per Para-4 of the advertisement aforesaid, an aspirant to be considered for appointment as Driver must be having eye-sight of 6/6 with or without spectacles and further his weight should not be more than 65 Kilogram (Kg). The condition is in terms of Clause 31 of the order issued by Hon'ble the Chief Justice as per Rule 7 of the Rajasthan High Court Staff Service Rules, 2002 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Rules of 2002') prescribing qualifications required for appointment as Driver. The Clause aforesaid reads as under:- 31. DRIVER - Recruitment to the post of Driver shall be made by direct recruitment after holding a job test and personal interview from amongst the eligible candidates on the recommendation of a Committee nominated by the Appointing Authority, a) who have passed the VIIth Class from any Government School or any School recognised by the Government for the purpose; possesses a Light Motor Vehicle driving licence and also 3 years' experience as a driver, and, (deleted) b) possesses - (i) weight not more than 65 k.g. (ii) sight 6/6 with or without glasses, (iii) knowledge of road side repairs of motor vehicles
(2.) To challenge the Clause aforesaid, these petitions for writ are preferred.
(3.) The argument advanced on behalf of the petitioner/s while questioning validity of the provision aforesaid is that fixing of 65 Kg. maximum weight to be considered for appointment as Driver is highly irrational, manifestly arbitrary and is having no nexus with the object sought to be achieved by regulating the recruitment of the Drivers. It is stated that the criteria for qualification or disqualification has to be co-related with height of the candidate. It is submitted that if condition No.4(2) of the advertisement dated 10.10.2004 is allowed to be executed, it would mean that the candidates having shorter height would be selected, though, they may be overweight and the candidates with height above 5 and 4 shall be disqualified through having weight in consonance to the criteria settled assess physical fitness in scientific terms. As per medical science, a healthy individual has one Kilogram of weight on 1 inch of his body height.;