SRINAGAR: The High Court of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh has granted two Food Corporation of India (FCI) employees one final opportunity to qualify the prescribed Hindi typing test, directing the corporation to give them at least one month’s preparation time and keep their discharge orders in abeyance until the fresh test is conducted.
Justice Sanjay Dhar, while disposing of a writ petition filed by Anjali Shaw and another employee, directed that if they qualify the test, the FCI must withdraw the discharge orders and issue confirmation orders in their favour, provided there is no other legal impediment. However, if they fail to qualify, the discharge orders will come into effect.
The judgment was pronounced on November 5, 2026, in WP(C) No. 2127/2026.
The petitioners had challenged orders dated June 11 and June 17, 2026, issued by the FCI authorities, discharging them from service with immediate effect on payment of salary and allowances in lieu of the 30-day notice period.
They had been appointed as Assistant Grade-III (Hindi) in the North Zone following a recruitment process initiated through an advertisement notice dated September 3, 2022, inviting applications for 36 posts in the category.
Under the advertised conditions, candidates were required to possess a degree from a recognised university with Hindi as the main subject, along with a certificate or diploma course of at least one year’s duration in translation from English to Hindi and vice versa. The advertisement also stipulated that Hindi typing proficiency at a speed of 30 words per minute would be tested during probation and that confirmation would be subject to qualifying the prescribed test.
Petitioner No. 1 was appointed through an order dated April 26, 2025, and joined on May 21, 2025, while petitioner No. 2 was appointed on October 29, 2024, and joined on November 8, 2024, at the FCI Regional Office in Jammu.
Both completed their one-year probation periods, but their services were neither confirmed nor was their probation formally extended. Subsequently, the Assistant General Manager, FCI Regional Office, Jammu, through communications dated April 30, 2026, asked them to appear in the Hindi typing test scheduled for May 5.
After they were informed that they had failed, another opportunity was provided through a communication dated May 22, with the second test conducted on May 25, 2026. They were again declared unsuccessful.
The corporation subsequently discharged them from service, relying on its circulars and the conditions incorporated in their appointment orders.
Challenging the action, the petitioners argued that the Food Corporation of India (Staff) Regulations, 1971, did not prescribe passing a Hindi typing test as a condition for confirmation to the post of Assistant Grade-III (Hindi).
Their counsel submitted that Regulation 15 only required an employee who had satisfactorily completed probation to be confirmed and did not authorise the corporation to introduce an additional condition through administrative circulars.
They also argued that the typing test requirement was not part of the eligibility criteria prescribed under the Staff Regulations and that the post of Assistant Grade-III (Hindi) had been created after deletion of the post of Hindi Typist. According to them, the requirement of a typing test applicable to the earlier post could not be extended to the newly created position.
The petitioners further contended that the circular dated August 23, 2024, prescribing the typing test had neither been published in the Official Gazette nor received the necessary sanction of the Central Government. They also questioned the timing of their discharge, arguing that it had taken place after completion of their one-year probation without any recorded adverse assessment of their performance.
They maintained that they had not been given sufficient time to prepare for the typing test and pointed out that candidates in other regional offices of the North Zone had reportedly been provided more than two opportunities. They also challenged their discharge without prior notice or an opportunity of being heard.
Opposing the petition, the FCI submitted that the advertisement notice had clearly stipulated the Hindi typing requirement and made confirmation of probation conditional upon qualifying the test.
The respondents argued that the petitioners had participated in the recruitment process without questioning the condition, accepted their appointments and subsequently appeared in the typing tests on two occasions. They could not, therefore, challenge the requirement after failing to qualify.
The corporation further maintained that confirmation depended upon satisfactory completion of probation and fulfilment of all prescribed conditions. It also argued that the discharge orders carried no stigma and that the petitioners were not entitled to a prior hearing before their services were terminated in accordance with the applicable regulations.
Examining the regulatory framework, Justice Dhar noted that the post of Hindi Typist had been deleted through an amendment to the Staff Regulations in 2002, following which the post of Assistant Grade-III (Hindi) was incorporated.
The court observed that the amended Staff Regulations prescribed educational and translation qualifications for the post but did not specifically mention a Hindi typing test as an eligibility requirement.
However, the court examined Regulation 91 of the Staff Regulations, which empowers the FCI Board to issue general instructions to address doubts, difficulties, inconsistencies or anomalies in the implementation of the regulations, provided such instructions are not inconsistent with the Act, rules or regulations.
Referring to the circular dated May 19, 2023, and the subsequent circular dated August 23, 2024, the court held that the corporation was competent to prescribe examinations and tests for confirmation of probation.
Justice Dhar observed that the typing test was intended to assess the candidates’ ability to perform translation-related duties and could not be considered extraneous to the functions attached to the post.
The court held that the FCI had the authority to prescribe such a test as a condition for confirmation and that the corporation had not committed any illegality in doing so.
It also rejected the petitioners’ challenge to the typing test condition, observing that they had participated in the selection process, accepted their appointment orders and appeared in the tests without raising objections.
On the question of their discharge after completion of the initial one-year probation period, the court noted that their services had not been specifically confirmed and that, under the applicable circular, probation could be deemed successfully completed only after the prescribed period and in the absence of an order confirming, discharging or reverting the employee within the stipulated timeframe.
The court also rejected their contention that prior notice was mandatory, referring to Regulation 15, under which a probationer could be discharged without assigning reasons by giving 30 days’ notice or salary and allowances in lieu thereof.
However, Justice Dhar took note of the circumstances in which the typing tests had been conducted and observed that the petitioners had not been given adequate preparation time.
The judgment recorded that the employees had been provided only a couple of days to prepare, affecting their ability to qualify the test.
“However, it appears that the petitioners have been hard done by the act of the respondents in holding the Hindi typing test without giving them adequate opportunity to prepare for the said test,” the court observed.
It added that “some sort of mechanism has to be devised to take care of the interests of the petitioners”.
Accordingly, the High Court directed the FCI to provide both employees one final opportunity to appear in the Hindi typing test, with at least one month’s preparation time.
The court further ordered that the discharge orders would remain in abeyance until the fresh test was conducted. If the petitioners qualify, the corporation would have to withdraw the orders and issue confirmation orders in their favour, subject to there being no other legal impediment.
In the event of their failure to qualify, the discharge orders would take effect and they would stand discharged from service.
The petitioners were represented by Senior Advocate Abhinav Sharma, assisted by Advocates Abhirash Sharma and Vansh Verma, while the respondents were represented by Senior Advocate Jahangir Iqbal Ganaie, assisted by Advocate Ahtsham Hussain Bhat.
