Rajasthan High Court has given an important decision regarding reservation in government jobs. The court clarified that candidates who have come and settled in Rajasthan from other states cannot claim reservation in government jobs here on the basis of SC, ST or other reserved status of their home state.
Jaipur: It is important for the youth of other states who are preparing for government jobs in Rajasthan to know the new decision of the High Court. The court has made it clear that if a candidate has SC or ST status in his home state, then merely by living in Rajasthan or getting married and settling here, he will not get reservation of the same category in the government recruitments of the state. The High Court said this while rejecting the appeal of a woman from Gujarat.
Will candidates from other states get reservation or not?
The High Court has clarified an important thing regarding the youth from other states applying for government jobs in Rajasthan. According to the decision pronounced on November 5, 2026, if a person has got SC or ST status in his home state, then he cannot seek reservation in government recruitment in Rajasthan on the same basis.
However, a person living in another state can apply for a government job in Rajasthan. He just has to fulfill the qualifications and other conditions prescribed in the recruitment. If he is not eligible for reservation, he may have to apply under unreserved category.
This matter is more important for those people who have left their home state and started living in Rajasthan due to marriage or employment.
Controversy started due to Gujarat woman's application
The whole matter is related to Baria Sharmistha Ben, a resident of Gujarat. She comes under Scheduled Tribe i.e. ST category in Gujarat. After marriage, she came to Rajasthan and started living. During this time, she applied for the recruitment of Nursing Officer in Rajasthan.
The woman had sought the benefit of ST reservation in the application, but the recruitment authorities did not accept it. He said that the women do not fulfill the conditions set for reservation in recruitment. For this reason his application was kept in the general category.
The woman did not agree with this decision. He presented his views in the court, but did not get relief from the single bench of the High Court in September 2025. After this he filed a special appeal in the division bench.
What decision did the High Court give on the woman's appeal?
The case was heard by a division bench of Justice Vineet Kumar Mathur and Justice Chandra Shekhar Sharma. After hearing the arguments from both sides, the court rejected the woman's appeal. The division bench upheld the decision of the single bench.
During the hearing, the court explained that social conditions are not the same in different states of the country. If a community is given reservation in one state, it is not necessary that it gets the same facilities in another state.
This is the reason why a woman belonging to ST category in Gujarat does not become entitled to ST reservation in government jobs here just because she settles in Rajasthan after marriage.
The court also referred to the earlier decisions of the Supreme Court in this regard. In these decisions also, the rules related to claiming reservation by going to another state have been clarified.
What are the rules for women who come to Rajasthan after marrying from another state?
Many women preparing for government jobs may face this kind of situation after marriage. Suppose a woman belongs to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe in Madhya Pradesh or Gujarat. After marriage, she starts living in Rajasthan and fills the form for a government job here.
In such a case, merely by being married, having an address in Rajasthan or showing the caste certificate of the old state, he will not get SC or ST reservation here.
A woman may have the caste certificate of her home state as before, but the question of getting reservation in state level recruitment of Rajasthan is different. For this, the rules applicable to recruitment and the eligibility of the candidate will be seen.
Therefore, women living in another state after marriage must check their category information while filling the application.
Supreme Court has already given decision in such cases
During the hearing, Rajasthan High Court cited the cases related to Mari Chandra Shekhar Rao and Action Committee of the Supreme Court.
In these cases it was revealed that the list of SC and ST communities is determined separately for each state. Under Articles 341 and 342 of the Constitution, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are identified state-wise.
This simply means that having reserved category status in one state does not guarantee the same benefits in a government job in another state.
However, the system of reservation in central government jobs may be different from that of state government recruitments. In such a situation, it would not be right to consider all the rules for any recruitment to be the same.
Keep these things in mind while filling the government recruitment form
Candidates filling the form for government job in Rajasthan should first read the recruitment advertisement thoroughly. It clearly states which candidates have to apply in which category and which documents are required for reservation.
Youth coming from other states should especially check the conditions related to their caste certificate and residence. Many times candidates choose reserved category on the basis of the certificate of their old state, but their claim is not accepted during the verification of documents.
To avoid this, it would be better to get information about the rules from the concerned recruitment board before applying.
Information about the decisions of Rajasthan High Court can be seen on the official website hcraj.nic.in. At the same time, to know the rules related to recruitment, please see the notification issued on the website of the concerned department or recruitment agency.