'Denying Inter-Utility Transfers To Lower-Ranking Officials Without Nexus To Relevant Policy Violates Article 14': P&H High Court

The Punjab & Haryana High Court has held that denial of inter-utility transfers only to lower-ranking officials without any rational nexus to the object of the policy is violative of Article 14. The Court observed that such classification between employees is arbitrary where it does not serve the stated objective of the policy.Justice Harpreet Singh Brar was hearing a batch of writ...

Bombay High Court Dismisses Election Petition Challenging MLA's Election Over Alleged EVM-VVPAT Discrepancies

The Bombay High Court has held that an election petition alleging discrepancies between EVM data and VVPAT slips is liable to be dismissed where it does not disclose material facts constituting a complete cause of action. The Court observed that mere assertions of discrepancies without pleading how such discrepancies materially affected the election result are insufficient under the...

Swords, Stars And Equality: Supreme Court's Definitive Verdict On Women Officers And Long Arc Of Constitutional Justice

“It is not enough to proudly state that women officers are allowed to serve the nation in the Armed Forces when the true picture of their service conditions tells a different story.” These words, articulated by the Supreme Court in Lt. Col. Nitisha v. Union of India (2021), have long served as a mirror to the institutional soul of the Indian military. On March 24, 2026, that mirror finally reflected a finished portrait of justice. In a landmark decision that closes a twenty-three-year...

Granting Pensioners Lower Dearness Relief Than Employees' DA Is Arbitrary, Violates Article 14: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Friday (April 10) observed that granting higher dearness allowance (DA) to serving employees than dearness relief (DR) to pensioners is arbitrary and violates Article 14, ruling that both benefits share a common objective, i.e., neutralising the impact of inflation. A bench of Justices Manoj Misra and Prasanna B Varale dismissed appeals filed by the State of Kerala and...

Merit-Cum-Seniority; Seniority Can't Be Applied Mechanically Not Evaluating Merit: Chhattisgarh HC

A Division Bench of the Chhattisgarh High Court comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal held that under the principle of merit-cum-seniority, the DPC must first make a comparative assessment of merit, and seniority can be used only as a tiebreaker, not as the sole basis for promotion. Background Facts The appellant was appointed as a Jail...

Appointments Under Inapplicable Statute Vitiated; Natural Justice Violation No Ground To Interfere With Termination: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that appointments made under a statute which is inapplicable on the institution— are vitiated and orders of termination of such employees cannot be set aside merely on grounds of order being non-speaking.Observing that the appointments were not made under the statutory provisions applicable to the institution, Justice Manju Rani Chauhan held,“In...

Bihar State Financial Corporation Can Fix Employee Pay Without State Approval: Jharkhand HC

A Division Bench of the Jharkhand High Court comprising Chief Justice M.S. Sonak and Justice Rajesh Shankar held that under the State Financial Corporations Act, 1951, a State Financial Corporation has power to determine its employees' pay and service conditions without needing prior approval from the State Government. Background Facts The employees were working with the Bihar...

'Abandonment Of Service Not Voluntary Retirement', Supreme Court Denies Pensionary Benefits To SBI Clerk

The Supreme Court has held that an employee who abandons service shortly before retirement cannot seek pensionary benefits by claiming it to be a voluntary retirement. “…we have noticed that the present case is not of voluntary retirement, rather of voluntary abandonment of the services, wherein from 24.01.1998 to 11.12.1998, the appellant, without informing and availing leave,...

Telangana High Court Directs Old Pension Scheme Benefits For Retired HC Judge Within 8 Weeks

The Telangana High Court has asked the concerned authorities to expeditiously implement benefits of old pension scheme entitlement to retired High Court judge Justice G Sri Devi within 8 weeks. In doing so the court disposed of the judge's plea after noting the submission of the authorities that they had granted sanction to her entitlement to pension under the Old Pension Scheme. A Division...

CCS Pension Rules | Gratuity Can Be Withheld During Pendency Of Criminal Or Disciplinary Proceedings Against Employee : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has observed that an employer is entitled to withhold the payment of gratuity to an employee against whom a judicial or disciplinary proceeding is pending. A bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi dismissed an appeal filed by an ex-Himachal Pradesh Road Transport Corporation Clerk, whose gratuity was withheld by the transport corporation because...

'Decision To Transfer Govt Servant Lies With Executive': Patna HC Sets Aside Single Judge's Direction To Transfer Forest Officer

The Patna High Court has held that transfer and posting of a government servant lies within the exclusive domain of the executive, setting aside a Single Judge's direction to transfer a Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) during pendency of proceedings.A Division Bench of Chief Justice Sangam Kumar Sahoo and Justice Harish Kumar was hearing an appeal filed by the State challenging the order...

Service Bonds Can Be Enforced On Students Who Avail Subsidised Education, Doesn't Constitute 'Bonded Labour': Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has recently held that service bonds can be enforced on medical students who avail subsidised education, noting that the same cannot be termed as "bonded labour" as it was common for students to avail study loans to defer the cost of education.In doing so the court allowed an appeal by Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) on mandatory service in its...