Chandigarh, March 27 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that candidates who accepted appointments to alternative posts cannot claim the Punjab Civil Services (PCS) executive role, stating they have acquiesced their merit for the position.
A Division Bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Vikas Suri dismissed five Letters Patent Appeals (LPAs)—two by selectees and three by the State of Punjab—affirming that the issue of appointments under the sports category had been settled.
The court noted that while the initial writ petition restricted the selectees from joining the post, they were later allowed to receive appointment letters once the impugned order attained finality. “The court does not deem it appropriate to disturb the equities,” the Bench observed.
The judges held that quashing the advertisement at this stage would cause grave injustice to the appointees. The selectees were given the option to either accept their current appointments or participate in a fresh recruitment process. Dismissing all five appeals along with interim orders, the court found no merit in the LPAs.
The case stemmed from appointments under the sports quota for PCS executive posts. The dispute arose over whether the Punjab government had adequately filled the advertised positions. The Single Bench had earlier ruled that four backlog posts under the sports quota were available until 2020, but only two were advertised—and both for the general category, excluding the reserved sports category.
The State argued that appointments could not be made to unadvertised posts, citing Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, which ensure equality in public employment. Meanwhile, the selectees contended they were entitled to PCS executive roles but were instead offered positions as assistant registrar and block development officer (BDO). One of them accepted the alternative post, effectively forfeiting their claim to the PCS executive position.
