The Supreme Court allows serving judicial officer from Uttarakhand to appear for the Himachal Pradesh Judicial Services (HPJS) examination, after noting that the Uttarakhand High Court had refused him permission without giving any reasons.

A division bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan quashed the rejection letter issued by the Uttarakhand High Court, which had denied the judicial officer permission to appear in the examination.

Case Brief:

In the said matter, the Court was hearing a petition filed by judicial officer Vishal Thakur, who challenged the Uttarakhand High Court’s decision refusing him permission to appear in the HPJS preliminary examination.

Thakur, a citizen of Bilaspur district in Himachal Pradesh, had earlier qualified the Uttarakhand Judicial Service Examination and was appointed as a Civil Judge (Junior Division) at Haldwani in Nainital district. He took charge of his post on November 21, 2022.

After submitting his application, Thakur sought prior permission from the Uttarakhand High Court to appear in the examination.

Despite the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission issuing him an admit card, the Uttarakhand High Court rejected his request without providing any reasons. Aggrieved by this decision, Thakur moved the Supreme Court.

Before the Court, he argued that the Uttarakhand Judicial Service Rules do not contain any provision that prohibits a serving judicial officer from appearing in a judicial service examination of another State. He further contended that the denial of permission without any explanation was arbitrary and violated his fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.

Accepting his plea, the Supreme Court quashed the rejection letter issued by the Uttarakhand High Court and allowed Thakur to appear in the HPJS preliminary examination.

Advocate Divya Jyoti Singh represented Thakur in the matter.