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IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH

107+264 CM-439-LPA-2026 in/and LPA-2926-2025 (O&M)

Date of Decision :25.08.2026 STATE OF HARYANA AND ANOTHER ..Appellant Versus SANJEEV BATISH AND ANOTHER ...Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE HARSIMRAN SINGH SETHI HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MINDERJEET YADAV Present: Mr. Aman Mittal, DAG, Haryana.

Mr. D. S. Patwalia, Senior Advocate with Mr. A. S. Chadha, Advocate for the respondent No. 2.

Mr. Shreenath A. Khemka, Advocate for respondent No. 1/caveator * * *

Harsimran Singh Sethi, J. (Oral)

CM-439-LPA-2026

1. The prayer in the present application filed by the respondent No. 1 is for placing on record additional documents as Annexures P-18 to P-

22.

2. Keeping in view the averments mentioned in the application, the same is allowed. Copy of aforesaid documents are taken on record subject to all just exceptions.

LPA-2926-2025

1. In the present appeal, the challenge is to the impugned order dated 21.11.2024 passed by the learned Single Judge, by which, CWP No.

10291 of 2023 titled as ‘Sanjeev Batish versus State of Haryana and others’, filed by the petitioners (respondents herein) was allowed and learned Single Judge held that the experience gained while working on Current Duty Charge was liable to be taken into consideration for computing the requisite eight years service prescribed under the Rules for eligibility for further promotion from the post of Sub-Divisional Engineer to the post of Executive Engineer (Mechanical).

2. Certain facts needs to be mentioned for the correct appreciation of issue in hand.

3. Respondent No.1, namely, Sanjeev Batish, joined as a Junior Engineer on 23.05.1996 in the Haryana Public Works (Building and Roads) Department. Thereafter, he was transferred to the Haryana Public Health Engineering Department on 15.07.2004 and joined there on 03.08.2004.

4. While working on the post of a Junior Engineer, respondent No.1 was assigned the Current Duty Charge of Sub-Divisional Engineer (Mechanical) on 24.08.2011, in his own pay scale. Subsequently, he was promoted on a regular basis as Sub-Divisional Engineer (Mechanical) vide order dated 05.05.2020.

5. The further promotion from the post of Sub-Divisional Engineer (Mechanical) to that of Executive Engineer (Mechanical) is governed by the Haryana Service of Engineers, Group A, Public Health Engineering Department Act, 2009 (hereinafter referred to as the “2009 Act”).

6. Section 6 of the 2009 Act prescribes the eligibility/qualifications for promotion to the post of Executive Engineer. For promotion from Group “B” to Group “A”, eight years completed service, along with passing of the departmental examination of Group “B”, is prescribed as an essential qualification. Though, the Government has the power to relax the requisite service and it is a conceded fact that no such relaxation has been granted in the present case. The explanation to the Section 6 of the Act 2009 further provides the 8 years completed service would mean the service rendered in Group “B” as well as in Group “A”.

7. At the time of consideration of further promotion, the claim was raised by the respondent No. 1-Sanjeev Batish that he already had worked as Sub-Divisional Engineer (Mechanical) on a Current Duty Charge, which experience needs to be treated as a service rendered in the cadre of Sub-Divisional Engineer (Mechanical) while calculating 8 years service and therefore, by adding such Current Duty Charge period, he should be treated eligible for further promotion to the post of Executive Engineer(Mechanical).

8. The said claim was declined by the State vide order dated 22.02.2023, holding that the requisite eight years service was to be counted from the date of his regular promotion to the cadre of Sub-Divisional Engineer (Mechanical), which took place in the year 2020. Hence, the said order dated 22.02.2023 was challenged in the writ petition before the learned Single Judge.

9. The learned Single Judge, after appreciating