HC pulls up State over 15-year delay in finalising R&P rules for Dental College lecturer post
Photo used for indicative purpose only. Source internet
Shimla, Nov 15,
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has sharply criticised the State Government for allowing a key teaching post at the Government Dental College, Shimla, to lie vacant for nearly 15 years due to its failure to finalise the Recruitment and Promotion (R&P) Rules.
Justice Sandeep Sharma, while deciding three separate petitions together, observed that the prolonged delay had continued even after the Supreme Court’s categorical direction in 2013 to complete the process of regular appointment. The post of Lecturer in Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics has remained unfilled since 2010.
The petitions, filed by Dr. Rajesh Thakur, Dr. Neha Sharma and Dr. Sanjeev Chauhan, sought consideration for promotion based on seniority, qualifications, or years of service. All three had challenged departmental correspondence issued between 2022 and 2023, arguing that the proposed method of filling the vacancy was arbitrary.
The court noted that the original R&P Rules framed in 2006 were scrapped in 2009 when the State switched to a tenure-based system of appointments for lecturers. However, the government subsequently assured the Supreme Court that it would revert to regular recruitment after framing fresh rules. Correspondence between the Health Department and the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (HPPSC) placed on record showed that the absence of updated rules had repeatedly brought the recruitment process to a standstill.
In its affidavit, the State informed the court that the vacancy had already been sent to HPPSC as a Scheduled Caste (SC) category post. Since none of the petitioners belonged to the reserved category, they were ineligible to claim consideration for the post, the court held.
Justice Sharma further noted that as the Health Department had withdrawn its earlier communication seeking service particulars from certain candidates, the grounds raised by two petitioners no longer survived.
Dismissing all three petitions, the High Court directed the State Government to complete the framing of R&P Rules within four weeks and ensure that the appointment process moves forward strictly in line with reservation norms and statutory requirements. The court remarked that administrative indecision spanning more than a decade could not be justified and must not be allowed to continue any further.
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