PRTC gets big relief from High Court
Ravi Jakhu
Chandigarh, June 4, 2026: In a significant development in the ongoing dispute over the regularization of employees of the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC), the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered that the status quo regarding the services of the concerned employees be maintained until further orders.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Sanjay Vashisth and Justice Ramesh Chander Dimri passed the order while hearing an appeal filed by PRTC against an earlier judgment of a Single Bench. Abhilaksh Gaind, Standing Council PRTC, argued on behalf of PRTC.
The controversy stems from an April 22, 2026 order in which a Single Judge had directed PRTC to regularize the services of the employees within six weeks. The court had further observed that if the corporation failed to do so within the stipulated period, the employees would be deemed regularised automatically.
Challenging the order, PRTC filed a Letters Patent Appeal (LPA-1556-2026) before the Division Bench. Counsel appearing for the corporation argued that a similar matter concerning regularisation of employees in the case of PRTC versus Jasdeep Singh and others is already pending before the court.
After hearing the arguments, the Division Bench directed that the existing service status of the employees be maintained and fixed August 31, 2026 as the next date of hearing. The court also ordered that the matter be heard along with another related case, LPA-1410-2026.
The latest order provides temporary relief to the PRTC management from the immediate implementation of the regularisation directions issued by the Single Bench. The final outcome regarding the employees' regularisation is now expected to be considered during the August hearing.