Chhattisgarh HC pulls up State Govt over delay in psychiatrist recruitment

Bilaspur: Expressing concern over delays in the recruitment of psychiatrists, the Chhattisgarh High Court has asked the state government to speed up the process, noting that such delays impact mental healthcare services. 

A division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal stated, "This Court expects and trusts that the State shall make earnest efforts to complete the recruitment process for the post of MD Psychiatrist at the earliest and avoid any unwarranted delay. The continued pendency of recruitment for such specialized posts, particularly in the field of mental healthcare, results in serious prejudice to the public at large. Seeking time on procedural grounds in such circumstances does not appear to be justified."

The Court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by the High Court Legal Services Committee against the State of Chhattisgarh and others. Senior Advocate Abhishek Sinha, assisted by Ghanshyam Patel, appeared as Amicus Curiae and Shashank Thakur, Additional Advocate General for the State, and Anmol Sharma, counsel, represented the Union of India.

During the previous hearing on February 4, 2026, the Court had directed the Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Department, Government of Chhattisgarh, Raipur, to submit a fresh affidavit. In compliance with this direction, the government filed an affidavit on March 23, 2026. 

Amicus Curiae Abhishek Sinha submitted that although the posts of MD Psychiatrists had already been advertised earlier, the State has again started the process of seeking financial approval, which may lead to further delay. He argued that repeatedly insisting on such approval, despite earlier sanction, unnecessarily prolongs the recruitment process.

In response, Additional Advocate General Shashank Thakur stated that obtaining financial approval is a mandatory procedural requirement whenever a fresh recruitment process is initiated.

After reviewing the affidavit, the Court noted that the proposal to recruit six MD Psychiatrists was already sent on March 5, 2026, and is currently awaiting approval from the Finance Department. Since financial approval had been granted earlier, the court said asking for it again appears to be only a formality and should not cause unnecessary delay. The process should therefore move forward quickly.

The Court said it expects the State to make sincere efforts to complete the recruitment of psychiatrists as soon as possible and avoid any unnecessary delay. It observed that keeping such important posts vacant, especially in mental healthcare, harms the public. The Court also noted that seeking more time on procedural grounds in such cases is not justified.

Further, the Court directed the Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Department, Government of Chhattisgarh, to file another affidavit giving an updated status of the recruitment process, in line with earlier directions.

The matter has been listed for the next hearing on April 28, 2026.

To view the court order, click on the link below:

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