Rajasthan High Court bars defeated election candidates from reclaiming government jobs

Government employees who resign to contest elections cannot demand their jobs back if they lose, the Rajasthan High Court has ruled. The court held that losing an election is a voluntary choice, not a "compelling reason" or a "material change in circumstances" that would allow an employee to withdraw their resignation.

The decision, delivered by a division bench of Justice Inderjeet Singh and Justice Sandeep Taneja, dismissed a petition by Neeraj Bishnoi, a former senior auditor with the North Western Railway. Bishnoi, a resident of Ajmer, had resigned in October 2023 to run for the state assembly seat of Ratangarh in Churu district on a Bahujan Samaj Party ticket.

After his defeat, Bishnoi tried to withdraw his resignation on 1 January 2024, arguing that he only realised after the election that he would lose his pension and retirement benefits. He claimed this realisation, combined with his defeat, constituted a change in circumstances. He also pointed out that he had applied to return to work within the standard 90-day window.

The railway administration rejected his application, a decision first upheld by the Central Administrative Tribunal in Jaipur and now by the High Court. The judges ruled that entering politics is a voluntary choice, and its predictable consequences do not qualify as an emergency. The court also noted that allowing Bishnoi back would violate the political neutrality required of civil servants. Reinstatement would effectively treat him as if he had remained in continuous government service while actively campaigning for a political party.

In a separate case, the High Court dealt with a more dramatic breach of legal boundaries, rejecting the plea of a man accused of pretending to be a qualified lawyer.

Justice Ravi Chirania refused to throw out an FIR against the accused, who had allegedly represented clients and filed documents in various trial courts despite having no legal credentials. According to court records, the man’s activities ended during a trial court hearing when local lawyers realised he was an impostor and tried to corner him. The accused managed to escape by scaling a wall of the court compound.

The escape led to a police complaint filed on 31 May 2025 at the Makrana police station in Didwana Kuchaman district. In the High Court, the man’s lawyers argued he had never claimed to be an advocate. However, when the judge indicated he would not dismiss the case, the man’s legal team asked to withdraw their petition. Justice Chirania dismissed the plea and fined the man Rs 50,000, ordering the money to be paid to the Rajasthan High Court Advocate Clerks Association within a month.