1 2026:HHC:22444 IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA CWP No. 17474 of 2025 Decided on: 16.06.2026. Rajesh Kumar …..Petitioner Versus State of H.P and others ..Respondents ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Coram Ms. Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua Whether approved for reporting?1 For the Petitioner: Mr. T.S. Chauhan, Senior Advocate with Ms. Abhilasha Bhardwaj, Advocate. For the Respondents: Mr. Anup Rattan, Advocate General with Mr. Rajat Choudhry, Assistant Advocate General. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jyotsna Rewal Dua, Judge Petitioner’s name was registered in the respondent- Department of Labour and Employment with specific registration No.20090110919. Over period of time, petitioner’s aforesaid registration had been renewed. However, in the last renewal carried out on 10.02.2025, the date of registration of the petitioner was mentioned as 10.02.2025. According to the petitioner, his date of registration should have been reflected as 17.06.2021 i.e. when he improved his educational 1Whether reporters of print and electronic media may be allowed to see the order? Yes. 2 2026:HHC:22444 qualifications and was accordingly registered as such with the respondent department on 17.06.2021. 2. Heard learned counsel for the parties and considered the case file. 3. There is no dispute that respondent department had registered petitioner’s name as Ex- serviceman vide registration No.20090110919, N.C.O.571.30 SD 01.09.2020. Petitioner thereafter improved his educational qualifications and his registration under the same registration number was accordingly renewed on 17.06.2021 with next date of renewal assigned as June, 2024. Petitioner, however, did not get his registration renewed within the stipulated time period. Petitioner got his name registered again in the office of respondent No.3 on 10.02.2025. The respondent department considered this registration as new registration though assigned him the same old registration number. In view of respondents’ treating petitioner’s registration on 10.02.2025 as fresh registration, the petitioner lost his seniority of about three years. Feeling aggrieved, he has instituted this writ petition seeking directions to the respondents to mention his date of registration as 17.06.2021 instead of 10.02.2025. 3 2026:HHC:22444 4. For assigning 10.02.2025 as fresh registration date of the petitioner, the respondents in their reply have fallen back upon Clause 7.32 of the National Employment Service Manual and submitted that petitioner should have been diligent in keeping track of date of lapse of his registration; He should have applied for renewal of registration within the prescribed time limit of three years with two months grace period. The said clause reads as under:- “Renewal of Registration 7.32 The renewal period will be of 3 years uniformly for all types of applicants. The registrants will be allowed to renew their registration in person or by prepaid post on any working day or by online method during the period of three months of registration namely the month in which renewal falls due and following two months. Note: In case of job-seekers whose renewal of registration is going to lapse within the next six months, a regular reminder through email/sms/mobile phone/by post should be sent, at least once in a month, to the job-seekers for updating their profile/ renewal of their registration. This would help the job-seekers to avoid the problems arising due to lapsing of their registration due to non-renewal in due time.” No doubt, it was incumbent upon the petitioner to have applied for renewal of his registration number within the stipulated period, however, at the same time, it cannot be ignored that in terms of note to Clause 7.32 extracted above, it was also the responsibility of the 4 2026:HHC:22444 respondents to have sent reminder through E-mail/SMS/ mobile phone/by post to the petitioner for updating his profile/ renewal of his registration. Admittedly, such recourse was not adopted by the respondents in the instant case. Learned Assistant Advocate General also relied upon following Clause 7.35 of the Manual to contend that for petitioner’s not applying for renewal within the permissible period, his registration card has to be treated as lapsed and removed from Live Register to be placed in the Dead Register; Therefore, petitioner is not entitled for registration w.e.f. 17.06.2021; That respondents were justified in treating petitioner’s registration afresh w.e.f. 10.02.2025 when he had applied for renewal of his registration as petitioner’s previous registration w.e.f. 17.06.2021 would constitute dead registration. The said clause reads as under:- “Lapsing of Index Cards 7.35 The registration card should be reviewed for lapsing in the first week of the fourth month following the month of registration. For example, registration card prepared in the month of January, will be removed from the Live Register in the first week of April. Such lapsed cards will be retained separately for two months. This will constitute the Dead Register.” In the instant case, while considering the petitioner’s application for renewal of his registration, 5 2026:HHC:22444 respondents have assigned the same registration number to the petitioner on 10.02.2025 as was assigned to him on 17.06.2021. The respondents have themselves not treated the registration number of the petitioner dated 10.02.2025 as dead registration. Petitioner’s registration number has been kept alive. Object behind renewal of registration in employment exchange is also to have database of those who have not yet been provided suitable employment and are still interested in seeking employment through the aegis of respondent- Labour & Employment department. It is not the case of the respondents that petitioner had been employed somewhere else during the period his registration had not been renewed. The instructions placed on record at Annexure P-5 pertaining to registration have not been disputed by the respondents. In terms of these instructions, more specifically with the heading “online renewal”, provision has made even for condoning the delay in not applying for renewal in time though according to respondents’ interpretation of aforesaid instructions, registration cannot be renewed after the assigned date of renewal and certainly not beyond the grace period. Be that as it may, 6 2026:HHC:22444 instructions would not carry the same binding force as is available to a statute. For the petitioner, reliance has also been placed upon N.K. Puran Singh versus State of H.P and others2. In the aforesaid case, the petitioner therein had applied for the post of police constable (reserved for Ex-serviceman). His candidature was rejected by the Interviewing Board on the ground that he had been registered with the employment exchange in the year 2010. His registration was not renewed within the permissible period. Petitioner’s name was registered afresh with the employment exchange on 26.11.2013. The respondents therein reckoned petitioner’s seniority w.e.f. 26.11.2013 i.e. fresh date of registration. This action was not countenanced by the Hon’ble Division Bench. Allowing the petitioner his seniority w.e.f. the year 2010, it was held that:- “The apt and germane rules, enjoining upon the petitioner the necessity of his after his initial registration in the year 2010 with the employment exchange concerned getting it renewed for maintaining his seniority, absence whereof forbidding and interdicting the petitioner from participating in the interview for the post concerned to be filled up amongst others by Ex- servicemen, have not been placed on record. For lack of adduction of apt and relevant rules by the respondents with a disclosure therein that the 2CWP No.458/2015, decided on 17.04.2015. 7 2026:HHC:22444 petitioner even when he got himself registered with the employment exchange concerned in the year 2010 there was an enjoined legal obligation cast upon him to get his registration renewed for fastening seniority qua registration, fillips hence an inference that omission, if any, on his part to obtain renewal of his registration did not strip him of his seniority to be reckonable hence from 2010. Consequently, the ground as meted out by the respondents of his having not produced the record/ endorsement of his maintaining his seniority after his initial registration with the employment exchange concerned, rendering his candidature to be dis-cardable as well as prohibiting him to participate in the interview, is wholly un-tenable as well as flimsy rather his seniority is to be computed from the year 2010 when he initially got himself registered with the employment exchange even without his having produced any record before the interviewing board qua the factum of his having maintained his seniority with the employment exchange concerned. Besides, the lack of omission of production by the petitioner of his X-10 card registered with the employment exchange concerned before the said selection committee though is contended to be a ground for rejection of his candidature, it also is an entirely pretextual ground in as much as given the fact of his sponsorship by the employment exchange concerned which would not have occurred unless his name stood registered with the employment exchange concerned, besides its hence fastening a legitimate claim for his consideration for selection by the interviewing board, dispels the effect, if any, of the omission on his part to produce his X-10 card registered on 18.11.2010. In view of above, the present petition is allowed. The respondents are hence directed to consider the candidature of the petitioner by subjecting him to an interview by a duly constituted interviewing board and in case he stands selected, then he shall be, in accordance with rules, appointed .against a vacancy occuring in future. All pending applications stand disposed of.” 8 2026:HHC:22444 Ratio of above decision is applicable to the facts of instant case as well. 5. For the foregoing, this writ petition is allowed. The respondents are directed to assign the date of registration of petitioner as 17.06.2021 instead of 10.02.2025 mentioned in Annexure P-4. Pending miscellaneous application(s), if any, shall also stand disposed of. Jyotsna Rewal Dua June 16, 2026 Judge yogesh