Court Rules Contractual Service Must Be Counted for Eligibility; Denial of Leave to Petitioners Deemed Arbitrary and Discriminatory
In a significant judgment delivered on October 15, 2026, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has ordered the State Government to grant study leave and No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to two Staff Nurses, Archna Thakur and Haseena Kumari, who were denied permission to pursue M.Sc. Nursing courses despite fulfilling eligibility criteria. The court held that the contractual service rendered by the petitioners prior to their regularization must be counted for the purpose of computing the requisite five years of service eligibility under the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972.
The petitioners were initially appointed on a contract basis as Staff Nurses on May 19, 2021, and later regularized on November 10, 2023. They successfully cleared the selection process for admission to the M.Sc. Nursing course at Atal Medical and Research University (AMRU), Himachal Pradesh, for the academic session 2026-2027. While eight other similarly situated Staff Nurses were granted NOCs and study leave, the petitioners were denied the same by the State Health Department vide communication dated October 3, 2026.
The denial was purportedly based on the ground that the petitioners lacked five years of regular service, excluding their contractual period. The court found this reasoning to be arbitrary and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law. Relying on precedents including the Division Bench's decision in Geetika Dharmani v. State of H.P. (2023) and the Supreme Court's ruling in Direct Recruit Class-II Engineering Officers' Association v. State of Maharashtra, the court affirmed that contractual service, when followed by regularization, must be counted for all service-related benefits such as study leave.
Further, the court rejected the State's argument that only Medical Officers are entitled to study leave for postgraduate courses, holding that Nurses pursuing advanced studies in their own professional stream serve the public interest equally. The judgment underscored that if study leave is granted to Medical Officers for postgraduate courses, denying it to Nurses under similar circumstances is discriminatory and illogical.
The High Court quashed the impugned communication and directed the respondents to issue the NOCs and sanction study leave to the petitioners within one week, by October 22, 2026. The court also mandated that all formalities be completed promptly to enable the petitioners to join their course starting October 21, 2026.
This ruling not only reinforces the principle of equality and fairness in public service employment but also promotes the professional development of healthcare workers, which is vital for advancing public health services.
Bottom Line:
Study leave - Staff Nurses appointed on contract basis and later regularized are entitled to have contractual service counted for determining eligibility of five years' service for study leave - Denial of No Objection Certificate and study leave to petitioners for pursuing M.Sc. Nursing, while granting the same to similarly situated Staff Nurses, is arbitrary and discriminatory.
Statutory provision(s):
Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972 Rule 50, Constitution of India Article 14
Archna Thakur v. State of H.P., (Himachal Pradesh) : Law Finder Doc Id # 3000200
