HP High Court Orders HPSEBL to Count Contract Service of JOAs for Seniority, Promotion
Shimla, September 8: The Himachal Pradesh High Court has directed the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited (HPSEBL) to count the contractual service rendered by Junior Office Assistants (IT) for all service benefits, including seniority and consequential benefits, after their regularisation.
The judgment: A Division Bench comprising Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Ranjan Sharma passed the order while deciding CWP No. 13050 of 2025, Ashwani Kumar and others versus HPSEBL, along with 82 connected petitions. The petitions were clubbed as they involved common questions of law and facts.
The dispute: The petitioners had been recruited through the prescribed selection process and appointed as JOAs on contract between June 2017 and March 2022. They were subsequently regularised after completing three years of contractual service. The petitioners sought counting of their contract period for seniority and other service benefits and consideration for promotion as Senior Assistants after completion of seven years of service.
The court’s finding: The Bench held that the petitioners had been selected after competing with eligible candidates through the procedure prescribed under the applicable Recruitment and Promotion Rules. Their contractual service was followed by uninterrupted regularisation, and none of the petitioners had been terminated during the contractual period.
The legal position: The High Court relied on the Supreme Court’s Constitution Bench judgment in Direct Recruit Class II Engineering Officers’ Association and the Himachal Pradesh High Court’s earlier judgment in Taj Mohammad’s case. It held that the petitioners’ claim was squarely covered by the principle that seniority is to be counted from the date of appointment where the initial appointment was made according to the applicable rules.
Employees Act rejected: The court also rejected reliance on the Himachal Pradesh Recruitment and Conditions of Service of Government Employees Act, 2024, noting that the legislation had already been quashed by the High Court in the Devinder Kumar case. The judgment in that case was subsequently affirmed by the Supreme Court after dismissal of the State’s Special Leave Petition on July 29, 2026.
Promotion benefit: HPSEBL has been directed to consider the petitioners for promotion to the post of Senior Assistant, subject to eligibility and their falling within the zone of consideration, after counting their contractual service. The consideration is to be made against vacancies available in 2024 and subsequent years under the quota prescribed for JOAs.
Annual increments: The court further directed that annual increments for the contractual period, if not already granted, shall be taken into account on a notional basis for calculating future salary at the time of regularisation and determining pensionary benefits. The judgment noted that contract employees were entitled to a 3 per cent annual increase after extension of their contract beyond one year.
Arrears deadline: The court directed that arrears arising from the order be paid to the petitioners on or before December 31, 2026. If the arrears are not paid by that date, the respondents will be liable to pay interest at 6 per cent per annum from the date of accrual until payment.
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