Supreme Court Orders Rajasthan High Court to Induct Rekha Sharma After 30% Disability Dispute

The Supreme Court dismissed an application filed by the Rajasthan High Court on October 27, 2026, clearing the final obstacle in candidate Rekha Sharma’s long-running fight to join the state subordinate judiciary as a civil judge. The bench slammed the High Court’s petition as “highly frivolous” and observed that the administration filed the plea to evade compliance with earlier judicial orders. The court issued an unyielding directive: finalize her appointment without further delay.

Sharma’s legal battle stretches back through multiple recruitment cycles. On November 2, 2020, the Rajasthan government’s Department of Medical and Health issued her an official disability certificate, documenting a 40 percent visual impairment. That figure met the statutory benchmark threshold mandated under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. Yet during the 2024 drive for 222 civil judge vacancies—which included nine seats reserved for persons with benchmark disabilities—the administration locked her out of the final selection list. She cleared the preliminary hurdle, crossed the minimum qualifying threshold of 117.25 marks by scoring 119, but fell short of the 121.5 mains cut-off. Sharma argued that authorities failed to apply a distinct, equitable cut-off for disabled candidates or reallocate unused reserved quota seats.

The bench stepped in. On April 15, 2025, a Supreme Court bench comprising Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma invoked extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to do complete justice. The bench ordered the authorities to induct Sharma as a Civil Judge (Junior Division), either against an unfilled quota slot or by creating a supernumerary post.

The Medical Board Showdown at SMS Hospital

Bureaucratic roadblocks resurfaced during pre-induction medical checks. Doctors at Sawai Man Singh Hospital in Jaipur examined Sharma between March 25 and March 28, 2026, and slashed her recorded visual impairment from 40 percent to 30 percent. That ten-point drop wiped out her benchmark status under the law. The hospital board promptly declared her ineligible under the physically handicapped category.

Hers was a question of statutory power: can an employment fitness panel unilaterally overturn a standing state disability certificate? Sharma’s legal counsel argued that the hospital board held authority only to assess functional job fitness, not to reassess or reduce disability percentages validated by competent state authorities. If officials wished to challenge her original 2020 certification, they had to file a statutory appeal under Section 59 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act. They never did.

Sharma petitioned the Rajasthan High Court Registrar General on August 5, 2026, demanding the restoration of her candidature or an independent re-examination. The administration sat on her plea. She returned to the Supreme Court on September 19, forcing the High Court administration to defend its stance. With the apex court’s outright dismissal of the High Court’s petition, state judicial authorities must now issue Sharma’s formal posting orders and close a two-year compliance standoff.