AHMEDABAD: Aspirations to walk tall and proud in khaki have “shrunk” after running into a tape measure. Several police job hopefuls in Gujarat have moved the high court after failing to rise to one’s full height in the latest recruitment drive, falling below the mandatory 165cm (5.4ft) cut-off despite, reportedly, having earlier cleared the same benchmark. Confusion surfaced during the physical efficiency test, where candidates who had been measured at or above 165cm during a recruitment drive in 2024 were declared ineligible. Authorities, recently, said aspirants now fall short of the record. Among the petitioners: Tushar Bhaliya and Govind Sindhav of Gandhinagar, Pappu Parmar of Banaskantha, and Mukesh Chauhan of Ahmedabad. All had reapplied for different police posts and were previously cleared on height. This time, they got the short end of the stick. As petitions piled up before HC, Justice Nirzar Mehta added a filter: each petitioner must deposit Rs 10,000 with court registry, refundable if claim were correct. To settle the inches-versus-centimetres debate, HC ordered for a fresh measurement to be conducted under strict medical supervision. Candidates must appear Feb 19 at GMERS civil hospital in Sola, carrying proof of deposit. Concerned Hospital authorities have been directed to arrange the process and facilitate it. Transparency is non-negotiable in the process. The bench said “the entire exercise be videographed and a report be produced before this court on the returnable date” of Feb 23.