Rajasthan High Court stays bulk FIRs against former Transport Department officers, bars coercive action

Jodhpur: The Rajasthan High Court has stayed the operation of two general directions issued by the State Transport and Road Safety Department on 20.11.2025 and 09.12.2025, by which First Information Reports were to be lodged against a class of former District Transport Officers without conclusively deciding individual culpability, and has restrained any coercive action against the petitioners pending final disposal of their writ petitions.

Justice Rekha Borana, sitting in the Jodhpur Principal Seat, accepted the petitioners’ prima facie case that the impugned directions amounted to a general mandate for FIR registration that bypassed individual scrutiny, and held that the Court’s interference under Article 226 was warranted to protect their fundamental rights.

Setting out the interim relief, the bench directed:

“Till the next date, effect and operation of the Annexure-10 dated 20.11.2025 and Annexure-11 dated 09.12.2025 shall remain stayed qua the petitioners’ case. If First Information Report has been lodged in pursuance of Annexure-10 and Annexure-11 then further proceeding qua the petitioners shall remain stayed and no coercive measure shall be taken against him till then. In view of the above, no coercive action shall be taken against the petitioners till final disposal of the present writ petitions.”

The lead petition, S.B. Criminal Writ Petition No. 425/2026, was filed by Rameshwar Prasad Vaishnav, Chandra Prakash Gupta and Anil Mathur — all described in the cause-title as “Post Former District Transport Officer” of the Rajasthan Transport Department — along with Bharat Singh. It was heard alongside ten connected criminal writ petitions, including S.B. Criminal Writ Petition No. 759/2026 (Makhan Lal Jangir), No. 968/2026 (Sanjeev Kumar Dalal) and No. 2097/2026 (Sunil Saini and Sanjay Sharma), each filed by similarly placed former officers.

The respondents in the petitions are the State of Rajasthan through the Principal Secretary, Transport and Road Safety Department; the Principal Secretary, Department of Home; the Commissioner, Transport and Road Safety Department; and the Director General of Police, Rajasthan.

Appearing for the petitioners, Mr. J.P. Bhardwaj, Mr. Muktesh Maheshwari, Mr. Rajak Khan, Mr. Shailendra Gwala and Mr. Sahee Ram submitted that the two impugned communications — Annexure-10 dated 20.11.2025 and Annexure-11 dated 09.12.2025 — operated as a general direction for lodging police reports against a class of former officers without any individualised inquiry into their alleged role, in breach of the safeguards otherwise built into the criminal process.

Counsel relied on a detailed inquiry report dated 19.06.2025, drawing the Court’s attention specifically to paragraph 5 of its operative part. The bench, recording its prima facie view, observed that the inquiry report and the manner in which the impugned communications had been issued made it necessary to intervene to protect the petitioners’ fundamental rights.

For the State, Mr. Hanuman Prajapati, Public Prosecutor, and Mr. Deepak Chandak appearing on behalf of Mr. B.L. Bhati, Additional Advocate General, accepted notice on behalf of all the respondents. Service was therefore recorded as complete on the day of admission itself.

The bench issued notice to the respondents, fixed the matters for hearing after four weeks, and granted the bouquet of interim protections set out above. Stay applications filed alongside the petitions were disposed of in view of the interim order itself.

Title: Rameshwar Prasad Vaishnav and Ors. v. State of Rajasthan and Ors.

Case No.: S.B. Criminal Writ Petition No. 425/2026 with connected S.B. Criminal Writ Petitions Nos. 759/2026, 968/2026, 2097/2026 and others

Counsel for petitioners: Mr. J.P. Bhardwaj, Mr. Muktesh Maheshwari, Mr. Rajak Khan, Mr. Shailendra Gwala, Mr. Sahee Ram

Counsel for respondents: Mr. Hanuman Prajapati, Public Prosecutor; Mr. Deepak Chandak on behalf of Mr. B.L. Bhati, Additional Advocate General