Court holds that for promotion from Sub-Divisional Engineer to Executive Engineer under Haryana Public Health Engineering Service Rules, eight years of completed substantive service is mandatory; experience gained on stop-gap Current Duty Charge posts does not qualify.
In a significant judgment delivered on August 25, 2026, the Punjab and Haryana High Court (Division Bench comprising Justices Harsimran Singh Sethi and Minderjeet Yadav) clarified the distinction between "experience" and "service" for promotion eligibility under the Haryana Service of Engineers, Group A, Public Health Engineering Department Act, 2009.
The case arose from a writ petition filed by Sanjeev Batish, who had been working on a Current Duty Charge (CDC) as a Sub-Divisional Engineer (Mechanical) since August 2011, though substantively holding the post of Junior Engineer. Batish claimed that the period spent working on CDC should count as completed service for meeting the eight-year eligibility criterion for promotion to Executive Engineer (Mechanical). He was substantively promoted to Sub-Divisional Engineer only on May 5, 2020.
The State of Haryana rejected his claim, stating that only substantive service counts towards the required eight years, not CDC assignments which are stop-gap arrangements without substantive appointment or pay scale change. The Single Judge initially ruled in favor of Batish, allowing his CDC period to be counted as service for promotion.
However, the State appealed this order. The Division Bench meticulously analyzed the statutory provisions under Section 6 of the 2009 Act, which mandates a minimum of eight years completed service in Group B or Group A, along with passing departmental exams, for promotion to Group A posts. The Court emphasized that the term "completed service" refers strictly to substantive appointments and not temporary or officiating duties under CDC.
The Court observed that CDC is merely a stop-gap arrangement without substantive appointment or pay benefits and thus cannot be equated with regular service. The fact that Batish was only regularized as Sub-Divisional Engineer in 2020 clearly indicates that the CDC period prior to that cannot be counted towards the eight-year eligibility requirement.
Further, the Court distinguished this case from precedents where only "experience" was required for promotion, noting that here "completed service" is explicitly mandated by the rules. The judgment clarified that while experience on CDC posts may be considered in some contexts, it does not fulfill the statutory requirement of completed service for promotion.
Importantly, the Court left open the possibility for Batish to seek relaxation of the service period from the State Government, subject to the government's discretion and applicable law.
Consequently, the Division Bench allowed the State's appeal, set aside the Single Judge's order, and upheld the State's original decision denying the counting of CDC period as substantive service. The writ petition was dismissed.
This ruling reinforces the strict interpretation of service rules for promotion within Haryana's Public Health Engineering Department and underscores the legal distinction between substantive service and temporary duty assignments.
Bottom Line:
Service Rules - Current Duty Charge experience cannot be treated as substantive service for the purpose of promotion where the rules require a specific period of completed service in a cadre.
Statutory provision(s):
Haryana Service of Engineers, Group A, Public Health Engineering Department Act, 2009 Section 6
State of Haryana v. Sanjeev Batish, (Punjab And Haryana)(DB) : Law Finder Doc Id # 2974637
