Chandigarh, July 28 -- A Punjab and Haryana high court division bench has given eight weeks to Chandigarh administration and municipal corporation (MC) to consider claims of employees, working for over a decade now, for regularisation of services within eight weeks. The order came on appeals from the MC and Chandigarh administration against August 2025 order of a single judge bench in which court ordered regularisation of services of petitioner employees within six weeks and further said that they would be deemed to be regularised and would be entitled to seniority and regular pay from the expiry of six weeks period. This decision of the court came on a 2017 petition by a group of employees. The division bench was dealing with six petitions filed by engineers, accountants and clerks working in the MC for more than a decade now and hired through advertisements against vacant posts on contract basis from time to time. UT argued that court could not have given direction that if not regularised within six weeks' they would be deemed to be regularised. "Unless and until, the employees are found entitled/eligible for regularisation after consideration of their claim in all aspects,...they cannot be regularised," UT argued giving examples of engineers that no policy of group- B for regularisation of their services exists. It was also argued that after the year 2022, the Central government rules have been made applicable upon the employees of Chandigarh and therefore, till the government of India grant the approval of the regularisation. The claims can't be considered. The court said that based upon the settled principles of law from time to time the court's direction on regularisation ought to be implemented. However, as regularisation claim is to be considered on the basis of the work and conduct of such employees. Hence, the direction regarding deemed regularisation, if order is not passed, could not have been given. Now, it has given eight weeks to consider claims of the employees. "In case the claim arises by the settled principles of law, benefit be extended regularisation of their services. In case such orders were not passed, this court will initiate suo motu contempt notice so that, the claim of the eligible is not kept pending for indefinite period so as to cause harm to such employees," the court said while disposing of the petitions....