Rajasthan State PCS

• 01 Mar 2024

Supreme Court Upholds Rajasthan’s 2-Child Norm for Government Jobs

Why in News?

The Supreme Court has upheld the two-child eligibility criterion of the Rajasthan government for seeking public employment, ruling that it is not discriminatory and does not violate the Constitution.

Key Points

• The Rajasthan Various Service (Amendment) Rules, 2001 bar candidates who have more than two children from seeking government jobs.
  • While upholding the two-child norm, the top court dismissed the appeal filed by ex-serviceman Ramji Lal Jat, who had applied for a constable’s job in the Rajasthan Police on May 25, 2018 after his retirement from military in 2017.
  • The bench held that Rule 24(4) of the Rajasthan Police Subordinate Service Rules, 1989, which says “no candidate shall be eligible for appointment to the service who has more than two children on or after June 1, 2002” is non-discriminatory and does not violate the Constitution.
• The court held that the classification, which disqualifies candidates for having more than two living children, was non-discriminatory and intra-vires the Constitution, since the objective behind the provision was to promote family planning.