IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Reserved on: 19.01.2026 Pronounced on: 06.02.2026 Harnek Singh and another … Petitioners Versus Ms. Anindita Mitra, Principal Secretary, Department of Education, Punjab and another … Respondents CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE VIKRAM AGGARWAL Present: Mr. Anil Mehta, Advocate, and Ms. Sukriti Kaur, Advocate, for the petitioners.

Mr. Jastej Singh, Addl. AG, Punjab.

***

VIKRAM AGGARWAL, J.

The instant contempt petition has been preferred under Article

215 of the Constitution of India, read with Section 12 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 (for short, ‘the 1971 Act’), seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against the respondents for deliberate and willful disobedience of the order dated 21.07.2011 (Annexure P-2), passed in CWP-4267-2010, titled as “Harnek Singh and others v. State of Punjab and others” and the order dated 23.03.2012 (Annexure P-3), passed in COCP-941-2011, titled as “Disabled Persons Association v. SC Aggarwal and another” and COCP-3142-2011, titled as “Harnesh Singh and another v. Hussan Lal”

2. The petitioners are visually disabled persons, who along with other persons, had instituted CWP-4267-2010 on the basis of a decision of the Division Bench of this Court rendered in CWP-11467-2010, titled as “Disabled Persons Association v. State of Punjab and others”. The said writ petition was instituted by the Disabled Persons Association as a Public Interest Litigation praying for grant of reservation to the extent of 3% to the physically handicapped persons and appointment to public posts by way of direct recruitment as also promotion to categories and groups as per the provisions of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the 1995 Act’). The said writ petition was allowed vide order dated 06.09.2010 (Annexure P-1) and a direction was issued to the State of Punjab to keep 3% posts reserved for promotion for the disabled in Group ‘A’ and ‘B’ posts and to issue necessary promotion orders within a period of six months.

3. The writ petition instituted by the petitioners viz. CWP-4267- 2010, was also disposed of in terms of the decision rendered in Disabled Persons Association’s case and a direction was issued to the respondents to consider the claim of the petitioners in the light of the said judgment as well as in the light of the Government circular dated 05.07.2011. The needful was to be done within a period of four months.

4. For, the aforesaid directions were not complied with, COCP- 941-2011 was instituted by the Disabled Persons Association and the petitioners instituted COCP-3142-2011. In COCP-941-2011, a reply was submitted that in compliance of the directions issued by the Division Bench, a policy dated 13.03.2012 had been framed. Accordingly, the contempt petition was disposed of with certain clarificatory directions:-

“2. Respondent No.2 has filed reply/affidavit alongwith Government Policy dated 13.3.2012 issued in compliance to the High Court directions to provide 3% reservation in promotions in Group A, B, C and D categories to the physically challenged persons.

3. In this view of the matter, the petitions are disposed of with a clarificatory direction that the Department concerned shall now proceed to identify the posts to be filled in by proceed to promotion from amongst the specially challenged persons and consider their claim for promotion against such identified posts from the due date in terms of of judgments of this Court from time to time and grant consequential benefits to employees found to be suitable for such promotions, within a period of three months from the date of receipt of certified copy of this order. In the event of any further claim, liberty is granted to the individual employees to raise their claim before an appropriate forum.”

5. The contempt petition filed by the petitioners was also disposed of in the same terms (Annexure P-3). Consequently