IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA CWP No. 13357 of 2025 Date of Decision: 20.08.2025 _______________________________________________________ Hem Lata Sharma & another …….Petitioners Versus The Shimla Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd. & others … Respondents ______________________________________________________ Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sandeep Sharma, Judge. Whether approved for reporting? 1 For the Petitioner: Mr. Onkar Jairath, Advocate. For the Respondents: Mr. Vijay Singh Thakur, Advocate, for respondent Nos. 1 and 2. Mr. Rajan Kahol and Mr. B.C.Verma, Additional Advocate Generals, with Mr. Ravi Chauhan, Deputy Advocate General, for respondent No.3. _______________________________________________________ Sandeep Sharma, Judge(oral): Notice. Mr. Vijay Singh Thakur, Advocate and Mr. Rajan Kahol, learned Additional Advocate General, appear and waive service of notice on behalf of respondent Nos. 1, 2 and respondent No.3, respectively. 2. By way of instant petition, petitioners have prayed for following main relief:- “ That this Hon’ble Court may kindly be pleased to issue a writ in the nature of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction, directing the respondents, particularly the 1Whether the reporters of the local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? 2 Registrar, Co-operative Societies, to accord approval for the regularization of the services of the petitioners after bringing the services of the petitioners on contractual basis from the initial date of appointment in terms of the contractual policy adopted by the respondent-Bank, alongwith all consequential benefits.” 3. Petitioners herein, who at present are working as Clerks in Shimla Urban Cooperative Bank Limited, Shimla, are aggrieved of inaction on the part of the Registrar, Cooperative Society inasmuch as afore authority despite there being repeated requests made by the Board of Directors of the bank concerned to grant requisite approval for regularization of the employees working on contract basis, is not taken any decision. 4. Precisely, the grouse of the petitioners as has been highlighted in the petition and further canvassed by Mr. Onkar Jairath, learned counsel for the petitioners, is that though petitioners herein has been working with respondent No.2-Bank for more than five years, but yet despite there being policy of regularization formulated by the Government of Himachal Pradesh for regularization of contractual employees, their services are not being regularized for want of necessary approval from the Registrar Cooperative Society, to whom respondent No.2-bank has repeatedly approached for grant of approval. 5. Mr. Rajan Kahol, learned Additional Advocate General, while putting appearance on behalf of respondent No.3, states that 3 bare perusal of averments contained in the petition as well as documents annexed therewith, reveals that respondent-bank has already approached the Registrar, Cooperative Society for seeking requisite approval, as is evident from Annexure P-16 (Colly) and as such, present petition can be disposed of with a direction to the Registrar, Cooperative Society, to consider and decide the aforesaid communication received from the bank concerned, in a time bound manner. 6. Mr. Vijay Singh Thakur, learned counsel representing the respondent-Bank, while fairly acknowledging factum with regard to communications sent by the respondent-bank to the Registrar, Cooperative Society, states that as and when requisite approval is granted by the Registrar, Cooperative Society, steps shall be initiated for regularization of the petitioners as well as other similarly situate persons in terms of policy of regularization framed by the Government of Himachal Pradesh because for that purpose, sufficient funds and posts are available with the respondent-Bank. 7. Consequently, in view of the above, this Court without going into the merits of the case, deems it fit to dispose of the same, with a direction to respondent No.3- Registrar, Cooperative Society, to take final decision upon the pending request of the respondent-bank (Annexure P-16 colly), if not already taken, expeditiously, preferably 4 within a period of two weeks, in accordance with law. Pending applications, if any, also stand disposed of. (Sandeep Sharma), Judge August 20, 2025 (shankar)