Recently, the Haryana government has requested the Punjab and Haryana High Court for the recruitment records of HCS officers. In response to the state government's application, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued notices to all parties involved, requesting their responses. This case has been pending in the High Court for 21 years.

This order was issued on Monday by the bench of Justice GS Sandhawalia and Justice Harpreet Kaur of the High Court.

This case has been pending in the High Court for approximately 21 years. In the year 2002, when appointments were made for HCS positions, Congress leader Karan Singh Dalal had filed a petition challenging these appointments in the High Court.

After this dispute reached the High Court, the original copies of the answer sheets were requested and obtained by the High Court. In 2009, upon a request from the Vigilance Department, photocopies of these sheets were made available.

The Vigilance Department had also filed an application last year, seeking the original copies of 54 answer sheets from 35 HCS officers. In their application, the Vigilance Department assured the High Court that after examination in the laboratory, these sheets would be returned to the High Court.

In the said matter, the Vigilance Department had filed an application in the High Court stating that the need for original answer sheets was essential to further the investigation. The examination of these answer sheets in the forensic laboratory would allow for a more thorough investigation, including checking for alterations, additions, erasures, and the use of ink.

Allegations had been made that the then Chautala government had violated regulations by appointing their favorites. Candidates with lower exam scores were appointed by awarding them higher interview scores.

Even during the investigation in this case, irregularities had come to light. In 2013, the then Chief Justice of the High Court had reserved his judgment after hearing all parties in the petition. However, during this time, the case was taken to the Supreme Court, leading to a reopening of the case in the High Court. Since then, the case has been under consideration in various benches of the High Court.