The Delhi High Court has intervened to assist a Delhi Police constable candidate whose application was rejected due to a "faded tattoo" on his right arm. The court has instructed the authorities to permit the candidate to join the police force.

The High Court, noted that the candidate had already undergone surgery to remove the tattoo, instructed him to appear in person and presented his right forearm for examination.

"We have physically seen the right forearm of the respondent (candidate) and from the naked eye, the tattoo is not even visible. The same has been shown to the counsel for the petitioners (authorities) and the officials who are present in court to assist the counsel.

"According to us, there is no clear visible tattoo on the forearm of the respondent. However, in place of the tattoo there is visible very dim scar. Sometimes such types of scars are natural and therefore, the candidates cannot be rejected on that ground," Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Girish Kathpalia said in a order passed on July 24.

The High Court rejected a plea from the Staff Selection Commission that challenged an order from the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), which had granted relief to the candidate.

"It is also not the case of the petitioners that all the vacancies are already filled up since the basic training of the second batch has commenced from July 1, 2024. Accordingly, the petitioners are directed to allow the respondent to join the second batch for training within a week from the receipt of this order," it said.

In September 2023, the candidate applied for a direct recruitment to the post of constable in Delhi Police after seeing a notification. He, along with 86,048 other candidates, successfully passed a computer-based examination conducted by the SSC.

However, during the medical examination at a BSF Hospital, he was deemed unfit due to a "faded tattoo on the right forearm." Despite undergoing a review medical examination, he was again declared unfit because of the "faded but visible tattoo on the vertical aspect of the right forearm." Consequently, he sought relief from the tribunal.

The High Court stated that when a candidate applying for a position in any force, including Delhi Police, has a tattoo on their forearm that is deemed objectionable, they are usually given a chance to have it removed within a specified timeframe.

If the tattoo is not removed, the candidate's application may be rejected. In this case, the Court noted that the medical board was conducted on January 20, with a review medical board held just two days later. By that time, the candidate was already undergoing tattoo removal surgery, which led to the tattoo being faded.

Consequently, the candidate did not have the opportunity to present themselves to the review medical board after the completion of the tattoo removal procedure.