Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The High Court of Bombay at Goa declined to interfere with the physical efficiency test conducted for recruitment to the post of Police Sub-Inspector, dismissing a writ petition filed by six aspirants who had questioned the fairness of the process.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Valmiki Menezes and Justice Amit Jamsandekar ruled that the conduct of the 800-metre running test did not suffer from arbitrariness nor did it infringe upon constitutional protections.
The petitioners had alleged that factors such as overcrowding on the running track, the size and condition of the ground, and the manner in which candidates were made to participate adversely impacted their performance. On these grounds, they had sought cancellation of the 800-metre run and requested the court to order a fresh test on a standard athletic track.
The State opposed the plea, submitting that the physical test was carried out in batches between December 9 and December 17, 2025, and that advanced RFID-based timing systems, operated by a specialised agency, were used to ensure accuracy. The government informed the court that uniform norms were applied to all candidates and that out of 936 aspirants who appeared for the race, 449 qualified for the subsequent stage of the recruitment process.
After reviewing the affidavits placed on record and examining video footage of the test produced before the court, the bench found no merit in the allegations. The judges held that there was no violation of Articles 14, 16 or 21 of the Constitution and concluded that the case did not warrant the exercise of writ jurisdiction under Article 226.
The court also noted that candidates who had successfully cleared the test were not made parties to the proceedings. It observed that ordering a re-test would be unjust, as it would effectively grant only a limited number of unsuccessful candidates an additional opportunity, while placing those who had qualified at a disadvantage.
