The Punjab and Haryana High Court has stayed the appointment process for 454 Pharmacist (Pharmacy Officer) posts advertised by Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) until September 17, 2026 and the order was passed by Justice Sandeep Moudgil while hearing a petition filed by Keshav Kamboj and other candidates who challenged the recruitment process.
The recruitment drive was launched through an advertisement issued on June 11, 2026, for pharmacist posts under the Punjab Department of Health and Family Welfare and the petitioners have sought the cancellation of the written examination conducted on July 19, according to the petition, the examination was allegedly affected by an organised inter-state cheating racket.
The petition also sought the cancellation of all subsequent steps related to the recruitment process, including the evaluation of answer sheets and the preparation or declaration of the result and during the hearing, counsel representing respondents informed the court that the appointment process had already been halted because the matter was pending before the High Court.
The state government and other respondents requested additional time to file their replies and accepting the request, the court deferred the hearing to September 17, 2026. The High Court further directed that the process of appointing candidates to the 454 pharmacist posts would remain stayed until the next date of hearing.
The petitioners argued that the entire examination process had been compromised by an organised, technology-driven cheating network and they referred to a press release issued on July 19 and an FIR registered on July 20 to support their claims and according to the petition, the alleged malpractice violated the principles of equality and equal opportunity guaranteed under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India.
The controversy surrounding the examination had already become a subject of discussion in the Punjab Assembly. On August 3, Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains informed the Assembly that a Haryana-based cheating syndicate had used advanced technology during the pharmacy recruitment examination and according to the minister, the group allegedly used modified mobile phones, hidden wireless earpieces and other electronic devices to help candidates cheat during the examination.
Bains stated that the incident was not a traditional paper leak, instead, he described it as a technology-based cheating operation that was detected and disrupted by Punjab Police.
He also alleged that the syndicate had been operating for years and had affected the future of thousands of students.
The High Court has not yet delivered a final verdict on the validity of the examination. The case will now be heard again on September 17 and until the next hearing, the recruitment process for all 454 pharmacist posts will remain on hold, which means appointments cannot be made, and the future of the recruitment drive will depend on the court's decision after considering the replies submitted by the state government and other parties involved in the case.
