Saurabh Kumar v. State of Uttarakhand

HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL Writ Petition Service Single No.321 of 2026 10th August, 2026

Prasoon Nautiyal ………..Petitioner

Versus

State of Uttarakhand and others ……..Respondents

With Writ Petition Service Single No.69 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.79 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.134 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.135 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.285 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.359 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.372 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.374 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.455 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.457 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.459 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.482 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.530 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.531 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.532 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.533 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.534 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.536 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.537 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.538 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.539 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.540 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.541 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.564 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.569 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.570 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.571 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.572 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.573 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.574 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.575 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.580 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.581 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.583 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.584 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.589 of 2026

Writ Petition Service Single No.593 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.594 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.635 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.640 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.653 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.664 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.665 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.666 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.742 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.858 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.889 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.890 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.891 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.892 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.901 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.944 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.968 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.969 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.970 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.973 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.991 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.992 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.993 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.994 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1085 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1086 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1133 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1155 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1156 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1165 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1166 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1196 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1197 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1198 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1199 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1200 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1201 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1203 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1204 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1211 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1213 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1215 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1230 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1256 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1259 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1263 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1440 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1480 of 2026

Writ Petition Service Single No.1498 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1620 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1662 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1663 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1664 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1985 of 2026 Writ Petition Service Single No.1991 of 2026 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Presence:- Mr. D.S. Patni, learned Senior Advocate assisted by Mr. Himanshu Yadav and Mr. M.C. Pant, Mr. Shobhit Saharia, Mr. Vinay Kumar, Mr. Aditya Singh, Mr. P.S. Uniyal, Mr. Ravi Bisht and Ms. Anupriya Kukreti and Mr. Yash Gautam, learned counsel holding brief of Mr. Sandeep Tiwari, learned counsel and Mr. Siddharth Singh Negi, learned counsel holding brief of Mr. Girveer Chandra, learned counsel and Mr. Shashi Kant Shandilya and Mr. Vishwaketu Vaidya, learned counsel for the petitioners. Mr. Ganesh Dutt Kandpal, learned A.A.G. with Mr. Pradeep Hairiya, learned Addl. C.S.C. with Mr. Narayan Dutt, learned S.C. for the State. Mr. Pankaj Miglani, learned counsel for the respondent-Selecting Body, through video conferencing. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hon'ble Pankaj Purohit, J.

In this batch of writ petitions, all the petitioners were engaged as contractual Junior Engineer by the respondent-PWD. The petitioners were working with the respondent-PWD as contractual Junior Engineer for more than 10 to 15 years. The respondents disengaged the petitioners as their contractual appointment was not extended.

2.

The petitioners have challenged the action on the part of the respondent-Department by filing these writ petitions seeking a writ of mandamus commanding respondent to take the petitioners back in service and to regularize them. Some of the petitioners' claim for regularization has also been rejected and that rejection of their regularization is also under challenge.

3.

This Court, keeping in view the qualification of the petitioners as well as the fact that they have been

engaged on contractual basis after advertising these vacancies and they fulfill the minimum criteria, asked the respondent-State to come up with a mechanism to take these petitioners back in contractual employment.

4.

The respondent-State has been fair enough with the Court submitted that the petitioners shall be accommodated against the vacancies on which they have been working by the strength of the interim order passed by this Court.

5.

Since the petitioners were outnumbered the vacancies available at that juncture, the respondent-State submitted that the petitioners who were more than the vacancies i.e. 83, would be accommodated against 19 vacancies to be come up subsequent to the promotion given to the Junior Engineer to the post of Assistant Engineer and thus 19 vacancies were also available with the State.

6.

Today Mr. Ganesh Dutt Kandpal, learned AAG made a statement before this Court, on instructions dated 06.08.2026 which are taken on record, that total 102 petitioners have been accommodated against the available vacancies (83 + 19). The detail of the petitioners have also been given in the instructions dated

06.08.2026 which is a case wise table prepared by the respondent-PWD.

7.

It is stated by learned State counsel that petitioners have been given re-engagement as per the date of interim order passed by this Court.

8.

Learned counsel for the petitioners (those who could not have been accommodated in the said list dated

06.08.2026) submitted that though they were senior to the candidates who have been accommodated, but they

have been left out only for the reason that they could not get interim order in their writ petition.

9.

Mr. M.C. Pant, learned counsel for the petitioners submits that four petitioners could not have been accommodated out of which one petitioner does have an interim order in his favour in WPSS No.79 of 2026, Ravindra Singh Chauhan Vs State of Uttarakhand, which is passed on 07.05.2026.

¶10Mr. Ravi Bisht, learned counsel for the petitioners submits that there is stay order in favour of the petitioner of Writ Petition (S/S) No.1498 of 2026, Pushkar Pal Singh Bisht Vs State of Uttarakhand and interim order passed in his favour on 10.06.2026 yet he could not have been accommodated.

¶11Learned counsel for the petitioners also submits that some of the petitioners have been still left out due to non availability of stay order in their favour.

¶12Learned counsel for the State submits that they have accommodated the petitioners on the basis of date of their interim order and those who got the interim order earlier were accommodated first and petitioners who were not accommodated are the one who got interim order later on.

¶13In the opinion of this Court, this cannot be criteria to deny accommodation to such petitioners.

¶14The petitioners who have left out by the State due to non availability of the vacancies can still very well be accommodated against ten posts which were reserved for the candidates with disability till the regularly selected such candidates join.

¶15It is further directed to the respondents that

after accommodating all the petitioners against ten above vacancies and in the future vacancies, they shall undertake the process of regularization of the petitioners ignoring earlier rejection of their claim for regularization.

¶16Accordingly, all the writ petitions stands disposed of.

(Pankaj Purohit, J.)

10.08.2026 SK

SHUBHAM KAPRUWAN DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND,

2.5.4.20=a29a2f80b93835a432d093afc472d9355959eetiff878380c645e17d54 6a24821, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=B505B049BA2FDAC35E7AE325DEE1505D6C35AF3D290C229C DC609D61801E1E4F, cn=SHUBHAM KAPRUWAN Date: 2026.08.10 17:38:48 +05'30'