Shimla, Oct. 28 -- The Himachal Pradesh High Court has quashed the six-month service extension granted to Public Works Department (PWD) Engineer-in-Chief Narinder Pal Singh, terming the government's decision illegal, arbitrary and void ab initio. The court directed the state government to complete the stalled selection process for the post by November 11, 2026, and ordered the incumbent to relinquish charge immediately.

A Division Bench comprising Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Ranjan Sharma passed the order while allowing a petition filed by senior Chief Engineer Narinder Paul Singh Chauhan, who had challenged the extension granted to the incumbent shortly before his scheduled retirement on April 30, 2026.

The court set aside t...