Case Title : RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT VS RAJAT YADAV
Citation : 2025 INSC 1503
Date : 19.12.2025
Hon’ble Supreme Court Bench – Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih
The Supreme Court’s ruling in Rajasthan High Court v. Rajat Yadav is a landmark defense of merit within India’s reservation system.It addresses a critical procedural failure where high-achieving students were being penalized for their social background. In a recruitment drive for over 2,700 court clerks, candidates faced a two-stage process: a written test followed by a typing test. The authorities shortlisted candidates for the second stage category-wise.A “legal absurdity” emerged when the results were published: Exceptional performance by reserved category students (SC, OBC, EWS) pushed their category cut-offs significantly higher than the General category cut-off.A reserved category student who scored 200 marks was disqualified because their category’s cut-off was 202 or higher. Meanwhile, a General category student with only 196 marks moved to the next round.
Justice Dipankar Datta, writing for the Bench, dismantled the argument that the Open category is a “quota” for the non-reserved. The Court clarified :
- That the General/Open category is not a reserved slot for any specific group; it is a common pool where the only currency is merit.
- The recruiters argued that moving students to the General list at an early stage was a “double benefit”. The Court rejected this, stating that when a candidate qualifies on their own merit without using concessions (like age or fee waivers), they aren’t “migrating”—they simply belong in the Open list.
- The Court mandated a “Merit-First” procedure.
This judgment ensures that reservation remains a tool for inclusion, not an “instrument of disadvantage” that caps a student’s potential.
