Rajasthan High Court directs State to appoint retired judge as supervisory head of RCSAT
RCSAT disposal rate has fallen from 97.67% in 2018 to 29.62% in 2026, with 2,440 appeals now pending.
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Rajasthan high court. File photo.
Jaipur: The Rajasthan High Court has directed the State Government to take immediate steps to appoint a retired judge of the High Court as the supervisory head of the Rajasthan Civil Services Appellate Tribunal (RCSAT), the statutory forum where government employees challenge service orders.
The direction was issued by Justice Sameer Jain on Aug 17, 2026 while disposing of a batch of over 400 writ petitions filed by employees of State departments, boards, nigams, discoms and other establishments against their transfer orders.
The Court was told that RCSAT has been functioning without the requisite Members, with a Judicial Member holding additional charge only for short and intermittent periods, leaving matters to be listed after considerable intervals. Data placed before the Court from RCSAT’s own case management system showed its disposal rate falling from 97.67 per cent in 2018 to 29.62 per cent in 2026. Pending appeals rose from 106 in 2018 to 2,440 in 2026.
Because the statutory forum was not providing timely relief, the Court noted, aggrieved employees were being forced to approach the High Court directly, adding to the constitutional docket.
Along with the supervisory appointment, the State has been directed to fill existing vacancies and ensure the availability of the requisite judicial Members so that RCSAT functions as a meaningful and efficacious forum. The purpose, the Court said, is to enable effective functioning, rational listing of matters and expeditious disposal of pending cases — not to confer any jurisdiction contrary to the statutory scheme governing RCSAT.
The direction was framed as a transitional measure, reasoned from the Supreme Court’s rulings in Madras Bar Association v Union of India and L. Chandra Kumar v Union of India. The Court clarified that it was not adjudicating upon the constitutional validity of RCSAT’s existing structure, and that the legislature and the executive remain free to take an appropriate decision in accordance with law.
