Gujarat High Court grants interim relief to man denied constable's job due to tattoo removal scar

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court has granted interim relief to a man disqualified to serve as constable in a Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) for having a tattoo removal scar on his saluting arm, and asked recruitment agency SSC to keep a post vacant for him till the disposal of his petition.

Justice Nirzar Desai, in an order on Tuesday, granted interim relief to the petitioner after observing he had wiped out the tattoo before his appointment order came, and whether the scar caused by its removal would last on his body or not is something not under his control.

The petitioner applied for the post of constable in the Assam Rifles for which an examination was conducted by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), a central government organisation.

In his plea, he said he had a tattoo on his right (saluting) arm, which he got removed before the recruitment process started, keeping with rules.

Even after the removal of the tattoo, its scar remained on his body, which was considered a ground for his disqualification for the post of constable though he had successfully cleared the examination and found a place in the merit list, the court noted in the order.

"The requirement is that there should not be any identification on the saluting arm. A scar is not considered a tattoo. My case before the court was that since there is no tattoo -- whatever remains is the scar caused by the removal of the tattoo -- my client cannot be disqualified on the ground of having a tattoo in the past," his lawyer Harsh Raval said.

The petitioner had cleared the physical standard and efficiency test before being called for medical examination, in which he was disqualified on three counts, including having squint eyes and tattoo on the right hand.

"He applied for a review in which his two grounds were dropped and he was declared unfit on the count of having a tattoo on the right hand. We have contended whether he can be disqualified on the grounds of having the scar of the tattoo?" he said.