NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has questioned the rationale behind recruitment rules that disqualify candidates from joining the armed forces for having tattoos on the right forearm, while permitting them on the left side.
A division bench of Justices C Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla, hearing a petition by an aspirant rejected on this ground, said the distinction between tattoos on the two arms appeared arbitrary.
The petitioner is Vipin Kumar, who had applied for the post of Motor Mechanic Vehicle in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) but was declared unfit due to a tattoo on his right forearm. Kumar challenged his disqualification, saying he was willing to undergo surgery to remove it.
Referring to recruitment guidelines framed by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, the bench noted that tattoos are permitted on “traditional sites of the body like inner aspect of the forearm,” yet the policy curiously allows them only on the left forearm, described as a “non-saluting limb”.
The bench remarked, “Prima facie, we do not understand how the mere presence of a tattoo on the right forearm of a candidate can disqualify him for recruitment to the forces.” The matter will be heard next on November 17.