Author: lawumbrella

Advocate Deven Khanna, an alumnus of the esteemed National Law School, is currently engaged in legal practice at the High Court of Himachal Pradesh and the Supreme Court of India. His practice primarily focuses on areas such as Civil liberties, Constitutional law, Writs, Labour and Service matters, Public Interest Litigations, and Bail matters. His academic contributions include articles in national journals, judging moot courts, and presentations at various legal conferences. He is committed to advancing legal education. For inquiries, he can be contacted at khannadeven@gmail.com or on mobile at 7018469792.

HP’s Contract Employee Act and Its Constitutional Downfall

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In a landmark constitutional ruling delivered on 25 April 2026, a Division Bench of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh quashed the Himachal Pradesh Recruitment and Conditions of Service of Government Employees Act, 2024 (Act No. 23 of 2025) in its entirety. The impugned Act had been enacted to neutralise decades of judicial precedent protecting the service benefits of contract and ad hoc employees appointed dehors Recruitment and Promotion Rules. The Court held the Act unconstitutional on the grounds that it violated the separation of powers, attacked judicial independence, was manifestly arbitrary under Article 14 of the Constitution, violated the constitutional scheme of public employment under Articles 16 and 309, and exceeded the legislative competence of the State Legislature. The judgment is an authoritative restatement of the limits on legislative power to override judicial decisions and carries significant implications for public employment law across the country.

 

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Himachal Pradesh High Court Cracks Down on CSR Non-Compliance; Directs Action Against Defaulting Companies

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The High Court of Himachal Pradesh has taken a stringent view on the ineffective utilization and monitoring of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds, particularly in the context of post-disaster rehabilitation in the State. The Court was hearing a suo motu public interest matter concerning compliance with CSR obligations by companies operating in Himachal Pradesh.

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High Court Cracks Down on Unscientific Desilting at Barot–Shanan Project; Imposes Safeguards to Protect Trout Habitat

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Shimla, April 8, 2026

In a significant environmental ruling, the High Court of Himachal Pradesh has issued stringent directions regulating desilting operations at the Shanan Hydroelectric Project in Barot, holding that unscientific discharge of silt into the Uhl River has caused serious ecological damage, including fish mortality and degradation of a nationally important trout habitat.

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Himachal High Court Intensifies Oversight of Statewide Solid Waste Management in Suleman Case; Pushes Deposit Refund Scheme, Legacy Waste Clearance, and Accountability of Authorities

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Shimla, March 18, 2026

The High Court of Himachal Pradesh has continued its close monitoring of solid waste management across the State in the long-pending Suleman vs Union of India & Ors. batch of matters, issuing further directions to ensure effective implementation of waste management systems, financial accountability, clearance of legacy waste dumps, and enforcement of the recently notified Deposit Refund Scheme (DRS), 2025.

The latest order dated 18 March 2026, passed by the Bench headed by the Hon’ble Chief Justice, forms part of a series of continuing directions issued since 2018 to ensure compliance with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, Plastic Waste Management Rules and the principle of environmental accountability across Himachal Pradesh.

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Straying from the Law to Cage Compassion – Supreme Court’s diktat on street dogs – Part 2

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Just when it seemed the Supreme Court had overreached beyond repair with its August stray-dog directions,

https://lawumbrella.org/2025/08/13/straying-from-the-law-to-cage-compassion-supreme-courts-diktat-on-street-dogs-of-national-capital/

the Court returned on 7 November with a new order that appears to walk back the worst excesses, only to quietly introduce an entirely new layer of illegality. Yes, the Court has now “restored” the lawful principle of sterilise–vaccinate–return mandated under the ABC Rules, 2023, implicitly acknowledging that the earlier “zero-release” diktat was untenable. But beneath this veneer of correction lies a fresh wave of judicial law-making: new categories of dogs invented out of thin air (“aggressive dogs”), sweeping bans on dogs in institutions not authorised by any statute, mass-removal directions never contemplated by Parliament, and an expansion of executive-style micromanagement across schools, hospitals, stadiums, highways, bus depots, and railway stations.

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Himachal High Court Pulls Up Authorities Over Parking Chaos, Restricted Roads and Decline of Shimla’s Walking Culture

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In an age when cities across the world are rediscovering the joy of walking, Shimla didn’t need reminding. It was built for it. The Mall Road was never just a stretch of tarmac; it was the city’s living room, where the rhythm of footsteps replaced the honk of horns, and strolling with an umbrella and jacket was a way of life. Walking wasn’t an afterthought here, it was the culture.

But the walker’s town is stumbling. What was once a paradise for pedestrians is now tripping over cars that creep into every nook and cranny. Drop-off passes double as overnight parking permits, and even sealed roads are no longer sacred. A town designed for shoes is being hijacked by wheels. And if the sidewalks are choking, the playgrounds are gasping. Grounds that once rang with cricket shots and the laughter of children have been swallowed by rows of parked vehicles. Instead of being the lungs of the town, these spaces are turning into parking lungs for cars. In Shimla today, the choice seems stark: a game of football, or another dozen SUVs. Guess who’s winning?

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Straying from the Law to Cage Compassion – Supreme Court’s diktat on street dogs of national capital

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When the Supreme Court’s August 2025 order on street dogs dropped, it landed with all the subtlety of a bulldozer in a butterfly garden. In one sweep, the Bench declared that every single community dog in Delhi-NCR must be rounded up, carted off to shelters, and never set paw on its old street again dismissing, without ceremony, any voice of dissent from animal welfare groups. The problem? India already has a law for this, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023 and that law says precisely the opposite: sterilise, vaccinate, and return them to their home turf, not exile them indefinitely. In the courtroom drama of “public safety versus compassion,” the scriptwriter here seems to have thrown the statute book out of the window.

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In the Courtroom of Conscience: Reflecting on Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan

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In Shimla, there are two things as certain as the hills themselves: the old town hooter that sounds at ten, and Justice Tarlok Chauhan taking his seat at exactly the same hour. Sharp ten. No dithering, no delay, time, like law, had to be honored. For the bar, this daily certainty meant one thing: if you had a matter before Justice Chauhan, you’d better have your file and your wits in order well before the fog lifted from the Mall Road. Once seated, His Lordship moved through the cause list with a rhythm that was nothing short of orchestral. The courtroom would come alive with movement, petitions called, orders passed, arguments sliced clean with surgical clarity. It wasn’t just speed; it was discipline refined into tempo. Lawyers who fancied a leisurely morning found themselves sprinting through their submissions, their watches forever set to “Justice Chauhan Standard Time.” He didn’t simply hear cases; he breezed through them, but never at the cost of fairness or depth. To witness him in court was to witness the law in motion, not sluggish, not ceremonial, but alive, exacting, and infused with purpose.

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The Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2025: A Threat to Judicial Independence and the Sanctity of the Legal Profession

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“The legal profession is not merely an occupation; it is the guardian of justice, the voice of the oppressed, and the first line of defense against tyranny. An independent Bar is the cornerstone of an independent judiciary—compromise it, and you compromise the very foundation of democracy.”

If the Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2025 had a motto, it would be: “Speak less, comply more, and never question authority.” Wrapped in the language of “reform,” this Bill is less about improving the legal profession and more about taming it. It reads like a playbook for turning fierce, independent advocates into government-approved legal service providers, carefully selected to avoid ruffling any executive feathers. By expanding control over the Bar, criminalizing dissent, and creating a chilling effect on legal activism, the Bill seems designed to ensure that lawyers think twice before taking up cases that challenge the powers that be. In a democracy, advocates are meant to be the watchdogs of justice—but with these amendments, the government appears keen to turn them into obedient house pets, barking only when permitted. The message is clear: fall in line, or risk professional extinction. But history has shown that the legal fraternity does not take kindly to such attempts at subjugation—and the overwhelming resistance to this Bill proves that the fight for an independent Bar is far from over.

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High Court seeks Rigorous Compliance of sanitation issues: Respect for shared spaces and lessons from Japan

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The scene portrayed above is from a Japanese movie, Perfect Days (2023), directed by Wim Wenders. The film portrays the life of a Tokyo toilet cleaner, Hirayama, who finds profound meaning and dignity in his seemingly mundane job. The philosophy of Perfect Days emphasizes finding dignity, meaning, and beauty in tasks, like cleaning toilets, reflecting the profound connection between care for shared spaces and human respect. As essential public services, sanitation and toilets embody this philosophy by upholding public health, equality, and dignity for all. Together, they remind us that even the simplest actions in maintaining hygiene can have transformative societal impacts.
The High Court’s various directives in CWPIL 6 of 2017 and the philosophy of Perfect Days converge on a universal truth: dignity resides in the care we show for our shared spaces and responsibilities. Just as Hirayama’s work elevates public toilets to sanctuaries of care, the court’s insistence on accountability and sustainable practices transforms sanitation into a symbol of collective respect and progress.

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Retrospective Regularization and Pay Fixation Benefits: A Win for Forest Guards

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In a case that highlights the perils of administrative inefficiency and its impact on the fundamental right to equality, the Himachal Pradesh High Court delivered a landmark judgment in favor of Forest Guards who were left behind in the race for regularization. At the heart of the matter was a seemingly small, yet significant delay in regularizing the petitioners’ services—a delay that cost them the financial and professional benefits their counterparts in the Dharamshala Circle enjoyed. The courtroom battle underscored a critical question: should employees suffer because of administrative lapses beyond their control? The court’s answer was a resounding no.

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