The Supreme Court is set to hear a challenge tomorrow regarding the Rajasthan Civil Judge Cadre Exam, 2024, amidst allegations of "arbitrary and flawed" evaluations.

During a hearing led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, the petitioner's counsel expressed the urgency of the matter, noting that interviews for the judicial services are scheduled to begin today.

The CJI mentioned that a similar case was called yesterday, but no one appeared; however, the bench decided not to dismiss the matter and has rescheduled it for tomorrow.

The counsel clarified that the petition listed yesterday was filed by a different lawyer and that she was raising a separate issue. Despite her request for an immediate hearing, the CJI stated that both matters would be considered the following day.

When the counsel pointed out that the interviews were happening today, the CJI assured her, "If we find irregularity, we will reverse."

The Rajasthan High Court, acting as the "Recruiting Authority," has opened 222 vacancies for direct recruitment to the Civil Judge Cadre in accordance with the Rajasthan Judicial Services Rules, 2010.

The selection process consists of three stages: a Preliminary Examination, a Main Examination, and a Viva Voce (Interview). Out of approximately 3,000 candidates who qualified for the Main Examination held on August 31 and September 1, 2024, only 638 candidates advanced to the interview stage.

Candidates have raised concerns over the results of the Main Examination, released on October 1, 2024, which showed inexplicably low marks—ranging from 0 to 15—in the English Essay paper. This scoring is notably inconsistent with their otherwise strong performances, resulting in some candidates missing the interview cut-off.

The petitioners argue that the subjective nature of essay writing, combined with the absence of a minimum qualifying mark for language papers, has led to an opaque evaluation process that produces arbitrary results, thus violating their fundamental rights and affecting their career prospects.

The petitioner has urged the Supreme Court to intervene and ensure an impartial re-evaluation of their answer sheets by an independent expert committee.

They contend that the flawed evaluation process undermines their constitutional right to equal opportunity, as enshrined in Article 14, and stress the importance of a transparent and fair process to maintain judicial integrity in the recruitment for the judiciary in Rajasthan.