NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court has dismissed petitions filed by two CRPF inspectors who were declared medically unfit for promotion because of tattoos on their right forearms, ruling that while tattoos aren’t completely banned for paramilitary recruitment, they must follow strict rules on where they are and how big they can be.What was the issueAnkit Maan and Pradhan Choudhary, both serving as Inspectors in the CRPF, applied for the post of Assistant Commandant through a Limited Departmental Competitive Examination in 2023. They cleared the written test and the physical tests, but were declared unfit in their medical examination on 30 August 2024, and again a day later in a review exam, because each had a tattoo on his right forearm, which is the saluting arm.Their lawyer argued that the recruitment advertisement never barred tattoos, that the rules didn’t say a tattoo by itself made someone unfit, and that the review exam was held just one day later, leaving them no chance to get the tattoo removed first.He further pointed out that the tattoos had never been a problem through their years of service, and that both men had since undergone surgery and had the tattoos removed.The government’s lawyers countered that the rules were clear that the tattoos are allowed only on the left forearm, not the right, and only within a certain size and design. They also said all the posts had already been filled.What the court saidA bench comprising Justice Anil Kshetarpal and Justice Amit Mahajan agreed that the rules don’t ban tattoos outright.“As is evident from a reading of the guideline as quoted supra, the rules do not per se stipulate an embargo on having a tattoo. They only provide the permissible location, content and size of the tattoo,” the court said.But those rules, the court noted, clearly restrict where a tattoo can be.The guideline quoted in the judgment states: “Tattoos marked on traditional sites of the body like inner aspect of the forearm, but only left forearm, being non-saluting limb or dorsum of the hands with size less than 1/4 of the particular part (elbow or hand) of the body are to be allowed.”And since both men had tattoos on their right forearm, they did not meet this requirement. The court also rejected the argument that removing the tattoos afterward should count in their favour.“Even if the petitioners have now had the tattoos removed, they can reap no benefit for the same in the present proceedings and they may apply for the next examination,” the court held.The court also said the men, being part of a disciplinary force, should have known about the updated medical rules — especially since they were applying for a higher post like Assistant Commandant.On the review exam being held the very next day, the court found no fault with the timing, noting that the rules themselves allow this. Separately, it pointed out that all the vacancies had already been filled and the selected candidates hadn’t been made parties to the case, which meant the petitions couldn’t succeed on that ground either.Holding that the men were rightly found ineligible, the court dismissed both petitions, while leaving them free to apply again in the next round of exams.