Bench asks government to explain legality of new cadre and furnish details of outsourced employees and vacant regular posts by July 7
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has stayed the recruitment process for Assistant Staff Nurses in the Health Department and directed the state government not to issue any fresh appointment letters or allow selected candidates to join until further orders.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Bipin Chander Negi passed the order while hearing the matter and questioned the legality of the appointments being made under a government policy without any amendment to the recruitment rules.
The court noted that the state government had notified a new policy on November 6, 2025, and approved the filling of 900 posts by creating a separate cadre of “Assistant Staff Nurses”. However, neither were the recruitment rules amended nor was any specific pay scale fixed for the new posts.
During the hearing, the Advocate General argued that the appointments were being made under a policy framed by the government. The bench, however, rejected the contention, observing that recruitments carried out outside the prescribed rules could not be accepted.
The court further remarked that while it is already examining issues relating to outsourced and allegedly illegal appointments, the government was complicating the matter by creating a new cadre without making corresponding changes in the rules.
The High Court directed the state government to file a detailed affidavit before the next hearing scheduled for July 7. The affidavit must provide department-wise details of outsourced employees engaged over the last three years and indicate the number of vacant regular posts available.
The government has also been asked to explain how the appointments of Assistant Staff Nurses could be treated as legally valid in the absence of amendments to the recruitment rules.
The issue comes at a time when the state is facing a shortage of nursing staff. According to figures placed before the court, out of 1,938 sanctioned posts in the Health and Family Welfare Department, only 1,266 nurses are presently working, leaving 672 posts vacant.
Similarly, in the Department of Medical Education and Research, 863 out of 2,189 sanctioned posts are lying vacant. Together, the two departments have 1,535 vacant regular nursing posts across Himachal Pradesh.
The court’s order has put the recruitment of 900 Assistant Staff Nurses on hold and raised questions over the government’s decision to create a new cadre through policy without amending the statutory recruitment framework.
