New Delhi/Chandigarh: In a major administrative move, the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Monday (July 14, 2025) recommended the promotion of 18 Haryana Civil Service (HCS) officers to the prestigious Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre. In addition, nine more officers have been extended “provisional” promotion, subject to the outcome of pending criminal cases.
The promotions come after years of delay caused by pending litigation, particularly in connection with the 2002 HCS recruitment irregularities, which remain under judicial scrutiny in a Hisar court.
Provisional Promotions Linked to Court Trials
Of the nine HCS officers granted provisional promotion, eight — Jagdeep Dhanda, Sarita Malik, Kamlesh Bhadoo, Kuldhir Singh, Vatsal Vashisht, Jag Niwas, Veena Hooda, and Surender Singh-1 — are facing criminal charges related to the 2002 recruitment process. All of them are currently on trial in Hisar, where the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) filed a chargesheet in 2023.
The ninth officer, Mahabir Parsad, is also under prosecution in a separate matter involving a chargesheet.
As per sources, these officers are otherwise fit for elevation but have been granted conditional or provisional status owing to the pendency of FIRs and criminal proceedings.
If the courts quash the chargesheets by December 31, 2025, the promotions will be regularised from the current date.
If not, the recommendations will lapse, as per UPSC norms and the IAS (Appointment by Promotion) Rules.
Delayed Promotions Finally Move Forward
The Haryana government had earlier proposed the elevation of 27 HCS officers from the 2002, 2003, and 2004 batches, against 27 vacant IAS posts spread over five years:
- 2020 – 3 vacancies
- 2021 – 4 vacancies
- 2022 – 8 vacancies
- 2023 – 10 vacancies
- 2024 – 2 vacancies
Delays in promotions were largely attributed to pending court cases and ACB investigations, particularly those linked to alleged irregularities in earlier recruitment cycles. However, persistent follow-ups by the state government reportedly expedited the decision-making at the Centre.
UPSC Rules and the Role of Provisional Status
According to Rule 7(3) of the IAS (Appointment by Promotion) Regulations, once UPSC clears the promotion list, it becomes final. However, if an officer on that list is either already chargesheeted or later receives a chargesheet, their inclusion is marked “provisional” until the matter is judicially resolved.
Such officers are only confirmed into the IAS after favourable judicial clearance, failing which their promotion recommendation automatically expires.
Implications and Outlook
The promotions are expected to ease administrative bottlenecks in Haryana’s civil services and fill long-standing vacancies in the IAS cadre at the state level. However, the status of the nine provisionally promoted officers remains uncertain, pending court verdicts.
This development also puts the spotlight back on the 2002 HCS recruitment scandal, a case that has lingered in the legal system for over two decades and continues to impact the careers of senior state officials.
