KEEPING A NON-CADRE/RE-EMPLOYED OFFICER ON AN IAS CADRE POST BEYOND THREE MONTHS REQUIRES CENTRE’S APPROVAL, SAYS ADVOCATE HEMANT KUMAR
Face2News/Chandigarh
Uncertainty continues to surround the sensitive post of Secretary of the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC), with the three-month re-employment of retired IAS officer Mukesh Ahuja ending recently on June 30 and the Haryana Government yet to post a serving IAS officer to the constitutional body’s key administrative post.
The situation has sparked debate in administrative and legal circles over whether the Government will now post a serving IAS officer to the cadre post or seek the Union Government’s approval to continue Ahuja beyond the initial re-employment period.
According to Hemant Kumar, Advocate at the Punjab and Haryana High Court and an expert on administrative law, the HPSC Secretary’s post has for several years been a notified IAS cadre post. Under the applicable service framework, he said, a State Government may retain a retired officer on re-employment on such a post only for up to three months on its own authority. Any continuation beyond that period would require prior approval of the Central Government.
June 11th Gazette Notification Reinforces Cadre Status
Hemant pointed out that the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Government of India, issued a Gazette Notification on June 11, 2026, revising the IAS Cadre Schedule for Haryana, in which the post of HPSC Secretary has been expressly included as an IAS cadre post.
“This makes adherence to IAS Cadre Rules even more significant while making appointments to the post,” he said.
No Fresh Posting Even Three Days After Expiry
Despite the expiry of Ahuja’s re-employment on June 30, no official order appointing a serving IAS officer as HPSC Secretary has been issued. Nor has the Government clarified whether Ahuja has been allowed to continue, leaving the administrative position shrouded in uncertainty.
Missing Re-employment Order Raises Questions
The most intriguing aspect of the controversy, Hemant said, is that the order granting Ahuja’s three-month re-employment has never been placed in the public domain.
Normally, transfer, posting and service orders relating to IAS and HCS officers are uploaded on the Chief Secretary’s official website either on the same day or within a day or two. However, no such order has been publicly released in this case.
RTI Replies Deepen the Mystery
Hemant said he had filed an online Right to Information (RTI) application before the Cabinet Secretariat on April 6, 2026, seeking details of Ahuja’s re-employment.
The application was transferred to the DoPT, which replied that Rule 9 of the IAS (Cadre) Rules, 1954 deals only with the temporary appointment of non-cadre officers to cadre posts and does not govern the re-employment of retired IAS officers.
The DoPT further advised that information regarding the re-employment should be obtained from the Haryana Government.
Kumar’s first appeal was disposed of on the same basis. In another RTI response, the Central Government also stated that it did not possess a copy of the order relating to Ahuja’s re-employment.
Relieved From One Post, Continued in Another
Ahuja, originally a 1997-batch Haryana Civil Service (HCS) officer, was inducted into the IAS in 2019 and assigned the 2009 batch.
After retiring on March 31, 2026, he was granted re-employment from April 1 to June 30. However, while the Haryana Government replaced him as Chief Administrator of the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board on May 26 by appointing 2012-batch IAS officer Dharmender Singh, he continued as HPSC Secretary.
Demand for Public Disclosure
Hemant has urged the Governor, the Chief Minister, the Chief Secretary and the Haryana Government’s Personnel Department to immediately make public the order under which Ahuja was re-employed, so that the legal basis of his appointment can be examined.
Invoking the proactive disclosure provisions of the Right to Information Act, he argued that administrative orders of such public importance should be placed in the public domain without citizens having to seek them through RTI applications.
Speculation Over HPSC Membership
Amid the uncertainty, speculation is also rife in administrative circles that the Government may appoint Ahuja as a Member of the Haryana Public Service Commission.
Hemant said there would be no legal impediment if such an appointment were made. However, he noted that Ahuja’s tenure as an HPSC Member would extend only until March 2028, when he would attain the constitutional age limit of 62 years prescribed for Members of the Commission.
