Punjab and Haryana High Court strikes down sportsmen recruitment rule restricting eligibility for Group A, B jobs to only those with medals in senior categories

The Punjab and Haryana High Court in the case Divraj Singh v.

State Of Punjab and Ors with connected matters observed and has struck down the 2020 amendment to Punjab Recruitment of Sportsmen Rules wherein it restricted the eligibility for Group A and B posts to those who had won medals in senior national championships or national games, thereby disqualifying the athletes who had achieved success in junior categories or other recognized events.

The bench comprising of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Sudeepti Sharma in the case observed and has stated that, ‘the reading down...of the impugned amendment as made to Rule 2(d)(a)(ii) & (iii) of the 1988 Rules, through the 2020 Rules, therefore, it is required for enabling parity and non-discrimination.’