Chandigarh, Jan 19: Haryana’s recent overhaul of its prosecution department recruitment rules has reached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, with a hearing now set for late March. The dispute centers on whether the state can legally promote internal officers to senior slots that federal law suggests should be open to seasoned legal practitioners.
The litigation focuses on the Haryana State Prosecution Department Legal Services Amendment Rules, 2025.
Under these provisions, the state government moved to fill Deputy Director of Prosecution vacancies through internal promotions on the final day of 2025.
Petitioner Pardeep Kumar Rapria, however, argues that these internal movements violate the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
Rapria, who maintains that he meets the criteria for the role given his nearly two decades of experience with the CIC and NIA, stated that the law is quite specific about who can lead prosecution efforts.
“The provision makes it clear that a person shall be eligible to be appointed as a Director or Deputy Director of Prosecution only if he has been in practice as an advocate for not less than 15 years,” the petitioner said.
The legal challenge describes the state’s reliance on promotion and deputation as an “arbitrary” method of recruitment that ignores the pool of eligible advocates in the private bar.
According to the petition, the state amended the 2013 Group ‘A’ rules to prioritize serving officers, a move that the petitioner noted effectively shuts the door on external merit-based competition.
The High Court will now determine if the state’s delegated power to create recruitment rules was used to override the primary federal statute. The petition claims the current system is in direct conflict with Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, which guarantee equality of opportunity.
The court is expected to review the validity of the promotions and the legality of the 2025 amendment during the upcoming proceedings.
