Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday restrained the State of Punjab from taking any further action on the recommendations made by the Screening Committee for promotion to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) under the non-State civil services quota. The Court issued a notice to the respondents and directed that no steps should be taken in terms of the Committee’s recommendations until the next date of hearing.
Background of the Case
The order came while hearing a writ petition filed by the Punjab Civil Services Executive Branch Officers Association and other petitioners. The petition challenged the process adopted for inviting and shortlisting candidates for appointment to the Punjab cadre of the IAS under Rule 8(2) of the IAS (Recruitment) Rules, 1954 and the IAS (Appointment by Selection) Regulations, 1997.
Senior advocates DS Patwalia and AS Chadha representing the petitioners argued that appointments by selection from non-State civil services officers should only be made under special circumstances and after evaluating the “outstanding merit and ability” of eligible officers.
Petitioners’ Allegations
The petitioners contended that:
The circular dated March 3, inviting applications from Group A (Class I) Gazetted Officers, was not widely publicized in newspapers or brought to the notice of all eligible officers.
Only 32 officers were shortlisted, primarily from the Water Supply and Sanitation Department and the Excise and Taxation Department, without a proper assessment of merit.
Appointments under the rules are capped at 15% of IAS posts in a calendar year; for 2024-25, only one such appointment could be made.
Some recommended candidates were allegedly influential, raising concerns about fairness and transparency.
State’s Response
Additional Advocate-General RS Pandher, appearing for Punjab, submitted that recruitment under the rule allows for 15% of total posts to be filled through selection from the State Civil Service. He added that the notice inviting applications was uploaded on the state government’s official website and requested time to file a detailed reply.
Next Steps
The Court accepted the State’s request and allowed time for filing a reply. The matter has been listed for January 22, 2026, while restraining the State from acting on the Screening Committee’s recommendations in the meantime.
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