HC declines to stay HIMUDA appointment order, admits appeal; ‘blue-eyed boy’ observation comes under scrutiny
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Shimla, Sept 18
Himachal Pradesh High Court on Wednesday declined to stay in toto a Single Bench judgment that had quashed the appointment process in HIMUDA, but admitted an appeal filed by Surinder Kumar challenging the order.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice G.S. Sandhawalia and Justice Bipin Chander Negi observed that there was no occasion to stay the judgment in its entirety and that the matter required consideration.
The court, however, passed a limited interim arrangement under which Kumar can continue as Advisor (Policy & Strategy), HIMUDA, while Anjori Kapoor would continue as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of HIMUDA during the pendency of the appeal.
The appeal centres on the circumstances in which Kumar was elevated to the post of Chief Engineer and subsequently appointed CEO of HIMUDA.
Kumar’s counsel argued that the post of Superintending Engineer was upgraded to Chief Engineer on February 1, 2023, and Kumar was promoted to Chief Engineer (Civil) the following day after a meeting of the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC).
The post was later redesignated as Advisor (Policy & Strategy) on May 3, 2025, following which the Screening Committee recommended appointments on May 27, 2025. Kumar was appointed CEO, while Kapoor was appointed Advisor (Policy & Strategy).
The appellant contended that implementation of the Single Bench judgment would adversely affect him after more than three years of his promotion. His counsel also pointed out that the original writ petition had been filed only on October 4, 2024, after considerable delay.
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Kapoor’s counsel challenged this sequence by placing before the Bench her seniority and promotion record. She had been promoted as Superintending Engineer in September 2014, while Kumar was promoted to that post in March 2017.
Kumar was subsequently promoted as Chief Engineer in December 2022, followed by the upgradation of the Superintending Engineer post in February 2023 and his promotion the next day.
The Division Bench was also taken through the findings of the Single Judge, who had observed that the upgradation of the post appeared to be a measure personally benefiting Kumar.
The Single Judge had gone further, describing Kumar as having been treated as a “blue-eyed boy” and observing that the Chief Engineer was a single-cadre post.
While admitting the appeal, the Division Bench did not stay the impugned judgment in toto. It instead maintained the above arrangement to protect the interests of both sides until the appeal is decided.
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