Himachal HC stays recruitment of 900 assistant staff nurses, flags legal concerns

Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh High Court has stayed the recruitment of 900 Assistant Staff Nurses (ASNs), observing that the ongoing recruitment process appears to be outside the framework of the existing statutory recruitment rules.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice GS Sandhawalia and Justice Bipin C Negi directed the state government not to issue any further appointment letters and restrained selected candidates from joining their posts until further orders.

The directives were issued during the hearing of a batch of petitions concerning recruitment policies and the growing reliance on outsourced employees in various government departments.

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According to an ANI report, the court took strong exception to the state's decision to recruit 900 Assistant Staff Nurses on a fixed honorarium through the Himachal Pradesh Rajya Chayan Aayog under a policy notified on November 6, 2025. The Bench observed that while the government had created a new category of healthcare workers, no amendments had been made to the statutory recruitment rules to accommodate the new cadre.

The court rejected the state's defence of the policy, observing that the entire recruitment exercise was "de-hors the rules" and noted that even the pay scales and service conditions of the proposed posts had not been properly defined.

"We are of the considered opinion that this whole process is de-hors of any rules, and even the pay scales have not been defined. The State is further deliberately complicating the issue and muddying the same," the Bench observed.

The High Court further noted that the government was attempting to establish a parallel recruitment mechanism despite the existence of a large number of regular vacancies. According to records placed before the court, there are 1,535 sanctioned posts of regular Staff Nurses remain vacant in the Health and Medical Education Departments.

The Bench questioned why the government chose to create a new category of Assistant Staff Nurses instead of filling the existing regular vacancies through the prescribed recruitment process.

The court also expressed concern over the sharp increase in outsourced appointments across government departments. An affidavit filed by Principal Secretary (Finance) Devesh Kumar revealed that the number of outsourced personnel in the state has risen to 26,724, significantly higher than the 17,114 employees reflected in earlier records, reports ANI.

Observing that Rule 112 of the Himachal Pradesh Financial Rules, 2009 permits outsourcing only as a temporary stop-gap arrangement and not as a substitute for regular recruitment, the court sought detailed explanations from the government.

The Bench noticed that the substantial increase in outsourced staff in key departments. The Directorate of Medical Education and Research reported 2,578 outsourced personnel, while the Department of Ayush disclosed 1,252 outsourced employees, a figure that had not been reflected in previous affidavits. The number of outsourced workers under the Directorate of Health Services increased from 253 to 842, while the Directorate of Higher Education reported 1,289 outsourced personnel.

The court indicated that such large-scale outsourcing, especially in departments where regular vacancies continue to exist, raised serious concerns regarding compliance with established recruitment norms.

During the proceedings, the High Court also dealt with an application seeking exemption from personal appearance filed by the Secretary (Health), who is currently on an official visit to Japan in connection with a JICA project.

Granting a temporary exemption, the Bench questioned the necessity of a ten-day foreign visit by a senior officer at a time when the state government has repeatedly cited financial constraints.

"We are quite surprised that a senior officer is going abroad on a programme for ten days, whereas the State is cash-strapped," the court remarked, directing the officer to remain present before the court on the next date of hearing.

The High Court has now directed the state government to file a comprehensive affidavit by July 7, 2026, providing department-wise details of outsourced employees engaged during the last three years and clarifying how many such appointments were made despite the availability of regular sanctioned posts.

The Secretary (Health) has also been granted liberty to explain whether the creation and recruitment of an entirely new category of healthcare workers without corresponding amendments to the statutory rules can be legally sustained.

The matter will come up for further hearing after the state files its response, with the case expected to have significant implications for recruitment and outsourcing policies in Himachal Pradesh.

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