The Rajasthan High Court (Jodhpur Bench) imposed a cost of Rs. 1 lakh each on multiple petitioners for engaging in forum shopping by filing cases at Jodhpur instead of the Jaipur Bench, despite the cause of action arising outside Jodhpur’s territorial jurisdiction.
Despite their cause of action clearly falling under Jaipur Bench’s territorial jurisdiction (as per a 1976 Notification and subsequent guidelines), several connected petitions from institutions in Jaipur, Sikar, Bharatpur, and other districts falling in Jaipur Bench’s jurisdiction were all filed before the principal seat at Jodhpur.
The court scrutiny revealed the practice of bench-hunting, also known as forum shopping, where litigants file in a forum perceived as more favourable or with heavier workload, allowing jurisdictional ambiguities to go unchecked.
The petitioners, including Annpurna Medical Training, filed writ petitions seeking inclusion in counselling lists for nursing courses, recommendations by federations, and acceptance of affiliation fees under Article 226 of the Constitution. They claimed eligibility for intake seats, and requested various directions to state authorities regarding B.Sc. Nursing admission processes in Rajasthan for the 2025-26 session.
The Bench comprising Justice Sameer Jain relied on Supreme Court and prior High Court precedent to stress that forum shopping, bench hunting, and manipulation undermine the legal system and warp expeditious justice.
The Advocate General, as amicus, conceded the prevalence and impropriety of such forum shopping. The registry’s laxity in not raising preliminary jurisdictional objections was also critically noted by the court.
In result, the Rajasthan High Court (Jodhpur Bench) imposed a Rs. 1 lakh cost on each defaulting petitioner, to be paid to the Rajasthan Legal Service Authority (Jodhpur) within two weeks. The Registrar (Judicial) at both seats was directed to compile statistics on similar past petitions and report to the Chief Justice for systemic guidelines and corrective action.
Registry and both seats of the High Court were put on notice to tighten scrutiny of territorial jurisdiction at the threshold.
Cases referred to:
1. Rajasthan High Court Advocates Association vs. Union of India & Ors., AIR 2001 SC 416
2. Union of India & Ors. vs. Cipla Ltd. & Anr., (2017) 5 SCC 262
3. M/s Oswal Wollen Mills Ltd. & Anr. vs. Union of India & Ors., AIR 1983 SC 969
4. Dhanwantri Institute of Medical Science vs. State of Rajasthan & Ors., S.B. CWP No.6235/2022
5. Virendra Dangi vs. Union of India and Ors., (1992) Supreme (Raj.) 585
6. Harsh Shiksha Evam Seva Sanasthan vs. State of Rajasthan, (2020) 1 RLW (Raj.) 108
7. Vijay Kumar Bhai & Ors. vs. State of West Bengal & Ors., (2022) 7 SCC 124
8. Sajid Khan vs. State of Rajasthan and Ors., SBCWP No. 11612/2022
9. M/s Jhanwar Medical Agency vs. State Of Rajasthan & Ors., DBSAW No. 571/2024
Appearances:
For Petitioner(s): Mr. Ankur Mathur, Mr. Shreyansh Mardia, Ms. Divya Bafana, Mr. Himanshu Choudhary
For Respondent(s): Mr. Rajendra Prasad, AG; Mr. Sher Singh Rathore for Mr. N.S. Rajpurohit, AAG; Mr. Mahendra Vishnoi, Mr. Vinay Kothari for RUHS, Ms. Akshiti Singhvi, Mr. Sangram Singh
