Authority: High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh
Order Date: 06 July 2026
Case Overview
- Petitioner Dr. Rakesh Kumar filed a writ petition under Articles 226/227 seeking a mandamus directing the university to regularize his appointment as Assistant Professor (Law) effective 14 Jan 2016, with seniority, pay fixation, arrears and 12% interest.
- He was appointed on a contractual basis on 14 Jan 2016 pursuant to Advertisement No. ET-02/2015, possesses LL.M., UGC‑NET and Ph.D., and has continuously performed teaching, academic, examination and administrative duties for over ten years without interruption, complaints or adverse remarks.
- University notifications dated 15 Apr 2021 and an experience certificate dated 24 Feb 2026 acknowledge his full workload and continuous service.
- The petitioner submitted repeated representations on 05 Nov 2024, 08 Jan 2025 and 25 Mar 2026, and a legal notice on 22 Apr 2025, which remained unaddressed by the respondents.
- The petitioner relied on several Supreme Court judgments (Jaggo v. Union of India 2025, Vinod Kumar 2024, Shripal 2025, Dharam Singh 2025, Bhola Nath 2026) and a Punjab High Court judgment (Manak Singh v. State of Punjab, 19 Jan 2026) supporting regularization of long‑serving contractual employees.
- State counsel raised no objection to the court directing the university to consider the legal notice in a time‑bound manner.
Final Outcome
The court directs Respondent No.2 (Chaudhary Devi Lal University) to consider the legal notice dated 22 Apr 2025 and pass a speaking order within three months of receiving a certified copy of this order, after affording the petitioner an opportunity of hearing. If the petitioner is found entitled to the relief, the university shall immediately grant regularization, seniority, pay fixation, arrears of salary and interest at 12% per annum, in accordance with the cited Supreme Court and High Court judgments.
Topics: Regularization; Higher Education Employment