Bombay HC rejects plea of aspirant denied RBI job

Mumbai: The Bombay high court Tuesday dismissed a petition filed by a RBI job aspirant who was denied employment because his fingerprints did not match each time they were taken as part of biometrics due to a skin condition. The court rejected his petition because he failed to prove that he had given prior information at the exam centre that he was suffering from such a condition.

A division bench of Justice Akhil Kureshi and Justice S.J. Kathawalla was hearing the petition filed by 27-year-old Akshay Sapkal, challenging the RBI order denying him employment on grounds that his biometric thumb impressions were inconsistent and did not match with the original each time they were taken.

On Tuesday, the RBI opposed his petition saying that since Mr Sapkal was aware of his medical condition before he appeared for the exam, he should have informed the authorities well in advan-ce. The RBI and the staff at the exam centre would then have made other arrangements to establish Mr Sapkal’s bonaf-ide, the RBI submitted.

The bench noted that the RBI, while inviting candidates for the job, had specifically mentioned in its advertisement that if any candidate had any problem concerning his or her biometric thumb impression, he or she should inform in advance. However, the petitioner failed to prove that he had informed the exam centre in advance that he was suffering from any such skin condition and hence, no relief could be granted to him. “Hence, the petition is dismissed,” said Justice Kureshi.

Mr Sapkal, through ad-vocate Ashish Giri, had approached the HC saying that he suffered from a “seasonal skin disorder called hyperhydrosis” which caused the skin of his palm to peel off and therefore, his biometric thumb impressions remained inconsistent.