Jaipur: Rajasthan high court has dismissed a set of writ petitions filed by 28 jail warders promoted to head warders, holding that the doctrine of “approbate and reprobate” barred their challenge. The court said a litigant cannot accept benefits under a statutory scheme and later attack the same scheme when it becomes disadvantageous. A division bench comprising Justice Inderjeet Singh and Justice Ravi Chirania in an order dated Feb 17 said, “A litigant cannot be allowed to blow hot and cold by first accepting the benefits under the new Rules and subsequently assailing the same when it ceases to be advantageous.” The petitioners were initially appointed as warders under Rajasthan Jails Subordinate Service Rules, 1976. After the 1976 Rules were repealed, the Rajasthan Jails Subordinate Service Rules, 1998 came into force. The petitioners were later promoted by the state govt to the post of head warder under the 1998 framework. The division bench held that the petitioners consciously exercised their option under Rule 35 of the 1998 Rules, accepted the circle-wise seniority list dated Sept 8, 2011, and thereafter accepted promotions granted in 2014 under the 1998 Rules. In these circumstances, they could not be permitted to turn around and question the validity of the very Rules under which they opted and benefited. The petitioners argued that the 1998 Rules illegally altered promotion eligibility and changed the basis of seniority preparation. The court found it impermissible for the petitioners to accept promotion under 1998 Rules and later seek promotions under the repealed 1976 Rules.
