Punjab & Haryana High Court Allows DESM Candidate to Join Higher Post Despite Interim Appointment; Holds Reservation Benefit Not Forfeited Due to Administrative Delay

Case Name: Sandeep Singh v. Haryana Vidyut Parsaran Nigam Limited and Others

Date of Judgment: 9 January 2026

Citation: CWP-2775-2020 and CWP-24320-2019

Bench: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Harpreet Singh Brar

Held: The Punjab and Haryana High Court allowed the writ petition and held that a dependent of an Ex-Serviceman (DESM) does not lose the benefit of reservation merely because he joined a lower post during the pendency of a delayed selection process for a higher post, provided he had applied for both posts while unemployed and furnished the requisite undertaking. The Court held that rigid application of the “once in a lifetime” principle defeats the beneficial object of the reservation policy and cannot penalise a candidate for administrative and judicial delays.

Summary: The petitioner, a dependent of an Ex-Serviceman, applied under the DESM category for the post of Clerk pursuant to Advertisement No. 10/2015 dated 24 November 2015 and also for the post of Grid Substation Operator (GSO) pursuant to Advertisement No. 3/2016 dated 20 February 2016. He qualified the written examination for the GSO post on 7 September 2017. However, the recruitment process was stalled due to interim stay orders passed by the High Court in connected litigation.

During this prolonged period of uncertainty, the petitioner was offered appointment as a Clerk and joined service on 24 May 2018. After the stay was vacated, an offer of appointment for the higher post of GSO was issued to him on 28 August 2018. When the petitioner sought to join the GSO post, the respondents declined permission on the ground that he had already availed the DESM benefit by joining as a Clerk. The appointment letter for the GSO post was subsequently cancelled by an order dated 14 January 2020.

The petitioner challenged the cancellation, contending that he had applied for both posts while unemployed and could not be penalised for accepting interim employment due to delays beyond his control. He relied on the DoPT Office Memorandum dated 14 August 2014 and Haryana Government instructions dated 13 April 2022, which clarify that Ex-Servicemen and their dependants who apply for multiple posts before joining civil employment may avail reservation benefit for a subsequent post, subject to furnishing an undertaking. The Zila Sainik Board, Ambala, had also issued a categorical “no objection” to the petitioner joining the higher post of GSO.

The respondents relied on the Rajya Sainik Board guidelines dated 11 January 2001 to argue that the DESM benefit can be availed only once in a lifetime. The High Court held that these guidelines must be read harmoniously with subsequent central and state instructions, which recognise the realities of delayed recruitment processes and aim to protect employment opportunities for Ex-Servicemen and their dependants.

Relying on the earlier decision in Harpreet Kaur v. State of Punjab, the Court reiterated that an unemployed candidate cannot be expected to remain idle during an uncertain and protracted selection process. Eligibility under the DESM category must be assessed with reference to the date when eligibility was required to be determined, which in the present case was the original scheduled date of counselling/interview for the GSO post, when the petitioner was admittedly unemployed.

Decision: CWP-2775-2020 was allowed. The impugned order cancelling the petitioner’s appointment was quashed. The respondents were directed to permit the petitioner to join as Grid Substation Operator pursuant to the appointment letter. The petitioner was held entitled to all consequential benefits including seniority, deemed date of appointment and notional pay fixation from the date other candidates of the same selection batch joined, though actual salary was made payable only from the date of his joining. CWP-24320-2019 was disposed of as infructuous.