HP High Court Orders Regularization of HPNLU Security Guards, Blasts “Contract Tricks”
Shimla, Sept 5 – In a big relief to half a dozen security guards shown the door earlier this year, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has directed the Himachal Pradesh National Law University (HPNLU) Shimla to reinstate them and treat their appointments as regular from day one.
Justice Sandeep Sharma, delivering the verdict on Monday, came down heavily on the university for what he called “unfair and arbitrary” practices — offering some candidates regular jobs and pushing others into contracts despite a common advertisement in 2021.
The petitioners, including Manoj Kumar, Sadam Hussain, Madan Lal, Lalit Kumar, Praveen Kumar and Rajesh Kumar Verma, were selected through due process but given contractual letters even though the selection committee had recommended them for regular posts.
After over two years of service, they were abruptly disengaged on January 1, 2025.
The court found that HPNLU deliberately created “fictional breaks” in their service to prevent them from completing 240 days annually — a qualifying ground for regularization under state policy.
“This entire exercise was only to deny them their legal rights,” Justice Sharma observed, calling the practice “untenable and exploitative.”
The university had argued that it lacked sanctioned posts and funds, citing a state government refusal to extend financial aid.
But the court pointed out that there were actually 30 sanctioned security guard posts when the advertisement was issued, and that the law school’s own service regulations mandated all appointments to be regular.
Ruling in favour of the petitioners, the court set aside their disengagement and ordered HPNLU to re-engage them on regular terms from their initial appointment dates.
While they will not receive back wages for the months they remained out of service, their period of disengagement will count towards seniority and other benefits.
The judgment is being seen as a major check on arbitrary contractual hiring in universities and autonomous institutions.
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