Himachal High Court issues a groundbreaking ruling

In a groundbreaking ruling issued today, the High Court of Himachal Pradesh censured both the Choudhury Sharawan Kumar Krishi Vishav Vidyalaya and the State of Himachal Pradesh for their misuse of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) during electoral processes. Justices Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Sushil Kukreja, comprising the Division Bench, invalidated an order by the Himachal Pradesh University during the 2022 assembly elections, which unjustly denied a former employee elevation to the Superintendent Grade II position based on MCC provisions. Describing this exploitation of MCC as an “unofficial pen down strike,” disrupting regular operations during elections, the court admonished Chief Secretary Prabodh Sexsena to promptly instruct all officers to refrain from using MCC as an unauthorized strike tactic. Stressing the necessity for clarity regarding MCC’s purpose, the court underscored that it should not impede the routine functioning of government bodies. The court mandated the Chief Secretary to issue unambiguous directives within a week, ensuring that government officials do not exploit MCC for unofficial strikes during its enforcement. Compliance with these directives was scheduled for review on May 6, 2024, with pending applications addressed accordingly.

The petition at hand, initiated by Satinder Kumar, sought the annulment of an order dated January 30, 2018, issued by the respondent University. Kumar fervently prayed for his promotion to the Superintendent Grade II position, effective from November 1, 2017, contending that the respondent’s refusal to grant him the promotion was both unlawful and arbitrary. The petition underscored Kumar’s rightful entitlement to promotion, challenging the respondent’s misinterpretation and misuse of the Model Code of Conduct during elections as invalid grounds for denying him the promotion.