Reign of Justice
The Himachal Pradesh High Court’s recent decisions address the limits of personal upgradation in cadre appointments, finality in execution proceedings and recovery of admitted government dues. This edition also revisits three important decisions from the Himachal Law Archive concerning contractual-service seniority, environmental safeguards and inter se seniority in the judicial service.
Continue reading “Himachal Law Journal: September”
Two Himachal Pradesh High Court decisions carry a direct message for service and criminal practice: probation does not permit punishment without fair procedure, and prolonged pre-trial detention cannot become a substitute for trial. These are the two decisions most relevant to practitioners from the present selection.
Continue reading “Himachal Law Journal: Probationer Termination and Speedy-Trial Bail”
The Himachal Pradesh High Court’s latest judgments address the limits of State control over university appointments, the rights of workers retained for decades on temporary terms, and recruitment conditions introduced through departmental clarifications. Here are the six decisions most relevant to practitioners and public authorities.
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has invalidated key provisions governing the appointment of Vice-Chancellors to the State’s two agricultural universities. The Court held that the State could not redesign the selection process in a manner inconsistent with the UGC Regulations, 2018, and clarified that the Governor, when acting as Chancellor, performs an independent statutory function.
An internet shutdown is often described as a temporary step taken to control a difficult situation. For the person unable to make a payment, attend a class, contact a hospital, report the news or access a court website, however, the shutdown is anything but abstract. It is the law entering everyday life through a blank screen.
Continue reading “Internet Shutdowns and Fundamental Rights: The Test Under Articles 19 and 21”In a significant Himachal Pradesh High Court seniority judgment, the Court examined when a provisional seniority list becomes final in operation. The dispute brought a procession of objections, representations, review petitions, appeals and promotions made while everyone was still arguing about who should have been promoted first.
Continue reading “When “Provisional” Became Final: Himachal High Court Restores Direct Recruits’ Seniority”An employee may be posted on paper at a tribal or difficult station but actually work at a more convenient location. Until now, an incomplete service record could allow the employee to continue receiving the administrative benefit of the hard-area posting. The Himachal Pradesh High Court has directed the State to close that gap.
Continue reading “Posted in a Hard Area, Working in Shimla: Himachal High Court Closes the Record-Keeping Gap”Public-interest litigation relaxes the traditional rules of standing, but it also places an unusually high burden of candour on the person invoking it. In Ajay Bhaik v. State of Himachal Pradesh, the Himachal Pradesh High Court found that this burden had not been met—and forfeited the petitioner’s deposit of ₹2 lakh.
Continue reading “When a PIL Conceals a Private Contest: Himachal High Court’s ₹2 Lakh Warning”Guest Author: Kaustubh Pratap Singh
Law Student, HP University
Editorial update (29 August 2026): Since this article was written, the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 has been referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee on 12 August 2026. The discussion below analyses the Bill as introduced in the Lok Sabha on 25 March 2026.
The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (“the Act” or “FCRA, 2010”) is the principal statute governing the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution and foreign hospitality by individuals, associations, and companies in India. Its long title records that it was enacted “to consolidate the law to regulate the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality by certain individuals or associations or companies and to prohibit acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality for any activities detrimental to the national interest.”
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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.
Continue reading “HP’s Contract Employee Act and Its Constitutional Downfall”
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.
Continue reading “Himachal Pradesh High Court Cracks Down on CSR Non-Compliance; Directs Action Against Defaulting Companies”
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.
Continue reading “High Court Cracks Down on Unscientific Desilting at Barot–Shanan Project; Imposes Safeguards to Protect Trout Habitat”
