In a landmark and far-reaching judgment, the Himachal Pradesh High Court struck down a controversial state law, calling it “illegal, unconstitutional and void.” The court also quashed several employee-related orders and granted relief to petitioners in over 260 connected cases.
The judgment was delivered on April 25, 2026, by a Division Bench of Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Romesh Verma. The Bench had reserved its verdict on January 5, 2026, after extensive hearings in a batch of petitions led by CWP No. 3361 of 2025, Devinder Kumar & Others vs State of Himachal Pradesh & Another.
The High Court ruled that the impugned Act passed by the State was unconstitutional because it tried to override earlier court judgments. The Bench held that such legislative action violated the doctrine of separation of powers and amounted to an impermissible use of legislative authority.
While quashing the law completely, the court issued several directions with wide administrative impact. It declared that all actions, decisions and omissions carried out under the quashed Act would automatically become invalid. The Bench also set aside all orders rejecting, withdrawing or denying employee benefits based on the legislation.
In significant relief to employees, the court barred the State from recovering any benefits already granted under the now-invalid law. It further directed competent authorities to extend all eligible benefits to employees within three months from the date of the judgment.
The matter became one of the largest consolidated hearings before the High Court, covering over 260 Civil Writ Petitions along with several connected proceedings. These included one Letters Patent Appeal (LPA No. 364 of 2024), four execution petitions, one contempt petition (COPC No. 183 of 2025), and a connected miscellaneous application.
The court recorded that all matters were heard together under the common title: “CWP No. 3361 of 2025 & connected matters.”
The litigation began after a large number of employees approached the High Court challenging the state legislation and subsequent administrative orders that affected their service conditions and benefits. Petitioners argued that the law sought to retrospectively nullify earlier judicial relief granted to them.
Agreeing with these arguments, the High Court held that the State cannot enact legislation that defeats or overrides binding judicial decisions, observing that such an attempt is legally unsustainable.
The batch included both group and individual petitions, reflecting widespread grievances across departments. Major group matters included cases such as Radhe Shyam & Others (CWP 3623/2025) and Harsh Deepika Datta & Others (CWP 3738/2025), along with individual petitions filed by employees including Amit Kumar, Shivani Sood, Madan Lal and Rita Devi, among others.
After detailed hearings, the Division Bench reserved its judgment on January 5, 2026, and pronounced the final verdict on April 25, 2026, bringing an end to a prolonged legal battle involving hundreds of petitioners.
Legal observers described the ruling as highly significant from both constitutional and administrative perspectives. By striking down the law and related orders, the High Court reaffirmed the supremacy of judicial decisions and placed limits on retrospective legislative interference.
The judgment is expected to benefit a large number of employees across Himachal Pradesh. Experts say it may also influence similar disputes in future and set an important precedent on the limits of legislative power in relation to court rulings.
Follow us
