SC Dismisses HP Government’s Review Plea on Contractual Employees

himachaleditor October 30, 2026 3 minutes read

Shimla, Oct 30

Himachal Pradesh government has suffered a major setback in the Supreme Court, which has refused to entertain its challenge against extending service benefits to contractual and ad hoc employees.

After the dismissal of its Special Leave Petition (SLP), the apex court has now rejected the state’s subsequent review petition, leaving the earlier judicial order undisturbed and narrowing the government’s scope for further legal recourse in the matter.

A two-judge bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta dismissed Review Petition (Civil) Diary No. 56882/2026, filed by the State of Himachal Pradesh and another petitioner against Devinder Kumar and others. The matter was taken up through circulation on October 27, 2026, and its final disposal was recorded on October 29.

While condoning the delay in filing the review petition, the Supreme Court rejected the state’s application seeking an oral hearing.

Examining the grounds advanced by the state government, the bench observed that it did not find any error, much less an apparent error, in the earlier order that warranted reconsideration. The review petition was accordingly dismissed, with all pending applications also disposed of.

The review petition arose from the Supreme Court’s judgment dated July 29, 2026, in Special Leave Petition (Civil) No. 24885/2026.

The state government had approached the apex court seeking reconsideration of the earlier decision concerning the service benefits of contractual employees. However, the review proceedings have failed to secure any modification of the original order.

The controversy has its roots in Himachal Pradesh’s contractual recruitment policy, introduced in 2003. Over the years, successive governments reduced the period of contractual service required for regularisation.

Initially, eligible employees had to serve eight years, which was subsequently reduced to seven, five, three and finally two years.

During this period, several contractual employees approached the Himachal Pradesh High Court seeking financial benefits, seniority and other service entitlements by counting their contractual service.

Various judicial decisions have favoured employees on different aspects of their service conditions.

The Congress government subsequently introduced the Himachal Pradesh Recruitment and Conditions of Service of Government Employees Act, 2024, seeking to regulate the recruitment and service conditions of government employees.

The legislation sought to distinguish contractual appointments from regular government appointments and restrict the extension of certain benefits available to regular employees.

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The enactment triggered legal challenges from employees who contended that the new statutory framework could not take away service benefits flowing from their contractual employment and judicial pronouncements.

With the Supreme Court dismissing the state’s review petition, the government has failed to secure reconsideration of the July 29 judgment.

The original judicial directions therefore continue to hold the field, and the state government will have to deal with their consequences in accordance with the law.