Supreme Court allows Uttarakhand judicial officer to appear for Himachal Pradesh Judicial Service exam

The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed a serving judicial officer from Uttarakhand to appear in the examination for the Himachal Pradesh Judicial Services (HPJS) after the Uttarakhand High Court had denied him permission without assigning any reasons [Vishal Thakur v The High Court Of Uttarakhand And Anr].

A Bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan went on to quash the rejection letter issued by the Uttarakhand High Court by which the judicial officer had been denied permission to appear in the examination.

"The letter dated 19.02.2025 issued by Respondent No.1 (Uttarakhand High Court) is quashed… and the prayers sought by the petitioner herein are granted...," the Court said

The Court was hearing a plea filed by judicial officer Vishal Thakur challenging the Uttarakhand High Court’s refusal to grant him permission to appear in the HPJS preliminary examination.

Thakur, who hails from Bilaspur district in Himachal Pradesh, had earlier cleared the Uttarakhand Judicial Service Examination and was appointed as a Civil Judge (Junior Division) at Haldwani in Nainital district. He assumed charge on November 21, 2022.

While he was in service, the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission issued a notification inviting applications for the HPJS examination. He submitted his application on December 31, 2024.

After applying for the examination, Thakur had sought prior permission from the Uttarakhand High Court seeking approval to appear for the examination.

However, despite being issued an admit card by the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission, the Uttarakhand High Court rejected his request without assigning any reasons.

Aggrieved by this, Thakur approached the Supreme Court.

He argued that there was no rule or provision under the Uttarakhand Judicial Service Rules that bars a serving judicial officer from appearing in another state’s judicial service examination.

It was further contended that the unexplained denial of permission was arbitrary and violated his fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.

The Court accepted his plea and quashed the letter issued by the Uttarakhand High Court and permitted Thakur to appear in the HPJS preliminary examination.

Advocate Divya Jyoti Singh appeared for Thakur.