Haryana Cancels Group-D Jobs Over Its Own Category Error, Then High Court Stays the Terminations
Haryana Group-D Job Cancellations: Punjab & Haryana HC stays termination of Group-D employees wrongly shown under ESM instead of ESP category, orders state to prove salary payments. Next hearing Nov 30.
North Desk Correspondent
Chandigarh, July 24
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has stayed the termination of a batch of Haryana government Group-D employees whose appointments were cancelled after the state’s own recruiting body allegedly mis-categorised them — more than two years into their service.
Justice Nidhi Gupta was hearing five connected petitions — led by Jatin and others v. State of Haryana, along with Tuhi Ram, Vipin and others, Ajay Dahiya and another, and Satveer Singh — when she ordered on July 23 that the operation of the impugned cancellation orders “shall remain stayed” until the next hearing on November 30.
How it started
Haryana Group-D Job Cancellations: The Haryana Staff Selection Commission had issued an Advertisement on May 30, 2023, inviting applications for 13,536 Group-D posts across state departments, boards and corporations. The petitioners, all eligible Ex-Sportspersons, applied under the ESP sub-category and sat the Common Eligibility Test in October 2023.
When results were declared on March 7, 2024, their names were erroneously shown under the Ex-Serviceman (ESM) sub-category instead: an error the petitioners say originated entirely with the Commission. They wrote to the department flagging the mistake and were reportedly assured it was “technical” and would be corrected. Appointment letters followed the same month; they joined their posts, completed probation, and served without complaint for roughly two years and four months.
The reversal
Haryana Group-D Job Cancellations: According to the petition, the Commission told the state’s HR department in April 2025 that after a category “correction,” 361 candidates fell outside the selection zone and sought cancellation of their candidature — a communication the petitioners say was never shared with them. Salaries stopped without any order from February 2026 onward. A show-cause notice issued on January 30, 2026 proposed cancelling their appointments over an alleged category mismatch, but the petitioners argue it disclosed no individual cutoff data, merit position, or supporting material.
Despite replies denying any fraud or misrepresentation, the state issued a cancellation memo on July 16, followed by relieving orders and consequential communications the next day.
The petitioners’ case
The petitioners’ advocates including senior advocates R.K. Malik and Vikas Chatrath argued that later continuation results (through June 2026) show the petitioners’ marks met or exceeded the applicable ESP cutoffs — meaning the Commission ought to have corrected their category rather than terminate them. They leaned on Supreme Court precedent holding that an employee cannot be made to suffer for an error of the recruiting authority, and on a separate line of cases requiring reasoned, non-vague orders before an adverse civil consequence like termination.
They also pointed to a parallel case, Chandrawati v. State of Haryana, decided in January 2025, where the court had already directed salary release for a similarly situated candidate — after which the state itself extended that benefit to others in the same position.
What the court ordered on Haryana Group-D Job Cancellations
Additional Advocate General Tanushree Gupta, appearing for the state with advocate Naina Ranot, accepted notice and sought time to file a written response. She disputed the claim that salaries had gone unpaid, telling the court salaries were being “regularly disbursed.”
The court directed the state to place on record — along with its written statement — documentary proof of exactly how and when salaries were paid. If any dues are found outstanding, the state must release the full amount before the next hearing. Meanwhile, the cancellation and relieving orders stay suspended, effectively keeping the petitioners in service pending the outcome.
READ ALSO: Dera Sacha Sauda Violence Case: How Forensics Sank Haryana’s Kaithal Dera Violence Case
Follow North Desk on WhatsApp for the latest from Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7ccdxJENy2H87DBG3E
