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The Punjab and Haryana High Court stayed the appointment process for 454 Pharmacist (Pharmacy Officer) posts in Punjab following a petition challenging the recruitment process conducted by Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS).
The order, dated August 10, said that the appointment process pursuant to the university's June 11 advertisement has been stalled due to the pendency of the writ petition. The court directed that the recruitment process shall remain stayed until the next date of hearing, which has been fixed for September 17 this year. The matter was heard by Justice Sandeep Moudgil. During the proceedings, counsel appearing for the respondents informed the court that the appointment process had already been stopped in view of the pending petition. Reacting to the development, BJP MP Sambit Patra alleged that the recruitment examination had been affected by allegations of a paper leak and accused the Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government of initially dismissing the matter as mere irregularities. "A few hours ago, the Punjab and Haryana High Court gave a very important decision. Last month, the exams for the recruitment of pharmacy officers in Punjab, which were conducted in July 2026 by Farid University (BFUHS), faced allegations that the paper had been leaked," Patra said. He alleged that the government had suspended those accused of wrongdoing but questioned why the examination was not stopped and why a fresh examination was not conducted. "The Aam Aadmi Party's Punjab government had claimed that these were merely irregularities and that those who had committed the mischief had been suspended. But a petitioner filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court regarding this entire matter, and today the Punjab and Haryana High Court has made very stern remarks against the Punjab government and asked why on earth this exam was not stopped? Why should the exam not be held again? A stay has been imposed on the exam that was conducted. This clearly shows that the Punjab government was trying to mislead the public and serving lies," Patra told ANI. Patra also claimed that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had repeatedly denied that a paper leak had taken place. "When the paper leak happened, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had repeatedly said that there was no paper leak. This shows that whether it is the Congress party or the Aam Aadmi Party, they have double standards," he said. The High Court's order, however, records that the appointment process for the 454 posts has been stalled pending adjudication of the petition. The court granted the State and other respondents time to file their replies and directed that any reply be filed at least one week before the next hearing. The court's interim direction will remain in force until the next date of hearing on September 17. (ANI)
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