Chhattisgarh HC rules that 2018 municipal service rules denying promotion to Tracers are arbitrary and unconstitutional

News Citation : 2026 LN (HC) 142 | 2026:CGHC:4105-DB

January 23, 2026 : The High Court of Chhattisgarh has held that government employees cannot be left to stagnate indefinitely due to changes in service rules, striking down portions of the 2018 municipal service regulations that eliminated promotional avenues for the post of Tracer.

In a significant judgment delivered on January 23, 2026, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal allowed a writ petition filed by Bhaypal Singh Kanwar, a Tracer posted at the Municipal Corporation in Raipur. The court ruled that the absence of any promotional channel under the Chhattisgarh Municipal Corporation (Appointment and Condition of Service of Officers and Servants) Rules, 2018 was arbitrary and violative of constitutional guarantees of equality.

Kanwar had been appointed in 2013 under the 2007 service rules, which provided a clear path of promotion from Tracer to Assistant Draftsman and, after a 2014 amendment, to Sub Engineer through departmental examination. However, when the 2018 Rules came into force, the post of Tracer was omitted from Schedule I and was not included in the feeder cadre under Schedule IV. As a result, Tracers were left without any avenue for career advancement.

The petitioner argued that this effectively froze his career despite possessing the required technical qualifications and years of service. His representation for promotion was rejected in February 2025 on the ground that no promotional channel existed under the current rules and that the post had been treated as supernumerary.

The State government and Municipal Corporation defended the rules, contending that service regulations framed under Article 309 of the Constitution carry a presumption of validity and cannot be struck down merely due to personal hardship. They maintained that promotion is not a fundamental right and that policy decisions on service structure fall within the employer’s domain.

The court acknowledged that promotion itself is not a fundamental right. However, it emphasized that an employee has a right to be considered for promotion in accordance with applicable rules and cannot be subjected to complete stagnation for an entire career. Relying on settled principles laid down by the Supreme Court, the Bench observed that total denial of promotional avenues amounts to manifest arbitrariness under Article 14.

While courts generally refrain from interfering in policy matters, the Bench noted that judicial intervention becomes necessary when a policy results in hostile discrimination or unfair exclusion. In this case, similarly placed technical employees had promotional opportunities, whereas Tracers were entirely excluded after the 2018 changes.

The court declared Schedule I and Schedule IV of the 2018 Rules ultra vires to the extent they eliminated the post and promotional channel for Tracers. At the same time, it stopped short of reinstating the earlier framework and instead directed the authorities to frame suitable rules or policies to provide promotional avenues to similarly situated employees within six months.

Allowing the petition in part, the Bench clarified that granting time-scale pay benefits alone does not compensate for the absence of career progression.

The ruling underscores that while governments have wide discretion in structuring service rules, such power cannot be exercised in a way that leaves employees permanently stranded without prospects of advancement.

Case Reference : WPS No. 3004 of 2025, Bhaypal Singh Kanwar vs State of Chhattisgarh; For Petitioner: Mr. Ajay Shrivastava, Advocate; For Respondents No. 1 & 2: Mr. Prasun Bhaduri, Deputy Advocate General; For Respondent No. 3: Ms. Preeti Yadav, Advocate (holding brief for Mr. Pankaj Agrawal, Advocate).