HP High Court Slams Government Over Temporary Appointments, Questions Legality of Hiring Process
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has strongly criticized state officials for making temporary appointments in the judicial system. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Jialal Bhardwaj raised serious objections to the state government’s October 30 notification regarding the establishment of additional district courts and five new civil judge courts.
The court stated that sovereign functions granted under law cannot be carried out on a temporary basis, and accountability can rest only with regular employees—not contract or daily-wage staff.
It was observed that the government planned to appoint support staff, drivers and peons on daily-wage basis, while chowkidars and sanitation workers were to be outsourced. Nazir and typist posts were also proposed to be filled on a contractual basis.
The High Court noted that such a hiring process violates Supreme Court directives and could amount to criminal contempt.
It reiterated that the High Court has already mandated regular appointments for all its employees and expects the state government to apply the same principle at the district level.
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