Extension in service only to be made in exceptional cases: Himachal HC
High court quashes re-employment to the post of animal husbandry dept director, says mere because recommendation from an elected representative does not justify the extension
The Himachal Pradesh high court has held that extension in service/re-employment is only to be made in exceptional circumstance and for public interest.
Disposing of two petitions, the high court quashed re-employment to the post of animal husbandry department director.
The petitions challenged a notification issued on January 2, 2025, for re-employment of an animal husbandry director. A division bench comprising justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and justice Sushil Kukreja directed the state to convene a fresh DPC.
The petitions, filed by Vishal Sharma and Sanjeev Dhiman, challenged the notification ordering re-employment of one Pradeep Kumar Sharma to the post of director.
Delving into the particulars of the case, the bench ruled that the re-employment had been done ‘illegally’. “Merely because the recommendation has come from an elected representative, would not justify the extension/re-employment,” the bench said.
It added that re-employment can only be made in ‘public interest’.
“The state has to consider the need for re-employment in the larger public interest of public as well as the department and its decision ought not to be sponsored by private or political interests,” the order added.
The bench noted that the burden to show exceptional circumstance and public interest falls onto the state and must be reflected on the record.