Chandigarh, August 12, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has stayed the appointment of 454 pharmacists recruited through Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS), with the order to remain in force until September 17, the next date of hearing in a petition challenging the recruitment examination.
Justice Sandeep Moudgil passed the order on a petition filed by Keshav Kamboj and others, who have sought cancellation of the written examination conducted for the recruitment of pharmacists after alleging that an organised inter-state cheating racket had compromised the test.
The petitioners challenged the July 19 written examination for recruitment to pharmacist posts (Group C) under the Punjab Department of Health and Family Welfare, pursuant to an advertisement issued on June 11.
They have sought quashing of the examination and all consequential actions, including evaluation of answer sheets and preparation or declaration of the results.
The petitioners argued that the examination had been completely vitiated by an alleged organised, high-tech, inter-state cheating racket, citing a press release issued on July 19 and an FIR registered on July 20. They contended that the alleged irregularities violated the constitutional guarantees under Articles 14 and 16.
During the hearing, the petitioners’ counsel submitted that the appointment process had already been stalled because of the pending writ petition.
The controversy had earlier been raised in the Punjab Assembly. State Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains told the House on August 3 that a Haryana-based cheating syndicate allegedly used modified mobile phones, concealed wireless earpieces and other sophisticated devices to facilitate cheating during the BFUHS pharmacy examination.
Participating in a discussion on a censure motion concerning repeated examination paper leaks and alleged atrocities against protesting students, Bains said the incident was not a paper leak but a technology-enabled cheating operation that had been busted by Punjab Police.
He alleged that the syndicate had operated for years and claimed that the Haryana government had failed to act against it, resulting in harm to the prospects of thousands of students.
Bains also asserted that Punjab had emerged as the country’s leading state in school education.
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