from several job-portal reports of Employment Notice No. 06/CHK/HC/2026 dated 31 October 2026: the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh has advertised 22 Chowkidar posts, and online applications stay open until 21 November 2026, 11:59 PM. Still pending: the interview date, time and venue, the e-admit card and the result. We could not open the official notice PDF, so the fee, category rules and document list below rest on one detailed summary page and are marked as such.
Quick facts
| Detail | As reported |
|---|---|
| Organisation | High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh |
| Post | Chowkidar |
| Employment notice | 06/CHK/HC/2026, dated 31.10.2026 |
| Vacancies | 22 (19 General, 2 SC/ST/BC, 1 Ex-Servicemen) |
| Application mode | Online only |
| Applications open | 31 October 2026 |
| Last date to apply and pay fee | 21 November 2026, 11:59 PM |
| Qualification | At least Middle Standard (Class 8); not above 10+2 |
| Age | 18 to 35 years as on 21 November 2026 |
| Selection | Interview of 50 marks; no written test described |
| Official website | www.highcourtchd.gov.in |
Most of these rows appear in four or five portal reports and agree with each other: the notice number, the 22 posts, the dates, the age range, the qualification band and the interview. The fee, the reservation conditions, the annexure list and the interview-day rules appear in detail on only one page, the firstjob24.com summary, which links the official PDF. Read that PDF on the High Court’s site before you pay anything.
Important dates 2026
The employment notice is dated 31 October 2026. Two portals say the online form went live at 11:59 PM that night, so the first full day to apply was 1 November. The form closes at 11:59 PM on 21 November, and the fee has to be paid by the same deadline. That leaves about three weeks.
Nothing after the closing date has a date yet. The interview date, time and venue are to be published on the High Court website. The e-admit card link is reported to appear there as well, with an email or SMS alert to candidates who are provisionally eligible. Admit cards are reportedly not sent by post.
A deadline at 11:59 PM invites last-night applications, and those are the ones that fail at the payment step. Apply in the first week, when you still have time to fix a rejected upload.
Vacancy 2026 details and category-wise split
| Category | Posts |
|---|---|
| General | 19 |
| SC / ST / BC | 2 |
| Ex-Servicemen | 1 |
| Total | 22 |
That is a small recruitment. Adda247 lists an earlier PHHC Chowkidar advertisement, No. 03/CHK/HC/2022, for 50 posts, so this round is fewer than half its size. With only three reserved seats, the General category carries almost all of the openings, and a reserved candidate has very few seats to compete for.
The summary page adds that the number of vacancies can rise or fall depending on how many exist on the date the merit list is prepared, and that the High Court decides how many candidates to recommend. The summaries don’t say how the two SC/ST/BC seats divide between SC, ST and BC, or whether any horizontal reservation such as women or persons with disabilities applies. If that matters to you, look for it in the notice itself.
Our expectation, not a reported figure: a 22-post recruitment with a Class 8 entry bar and a High Court employer will attract a very large applicant pool. The notice reportedly allows for that, as the next sections show.
Education qualification: a floor and a ceiling
The notice sets both a minimum and a maximum. The minimum is Middle Standard, meaning Class 8, from a recognised board or school. The maximum is 10+2. Anyone qualified above Class 12 is not eligible, so a graduate or postgraduate cannot apply. Both tests are applied on the last date of online submission, 21 November. Every candidate must also file an affidavit, Annexure V, stating that they hold no qualification above 10+2.
Most government notices only set a minimum, which is why the ceiling is the condition candidates overlook. The group at greatest risk is candidates who completed Class 12, went on to a degree, and are now looking for any government job. They read “8th pass” and stop reading. If you hold a degree, you cannot apply, and signing a false affidavit would turn a rejected form into a bigger problem.
The summaries leave several edge cases open:
- How a diploma or ITI certificate counts against the 10+2 ceiling is not stated.
- Whether a candidate who is part-way through a degree on 21 November is treated as qualified above 10+2 is not stated. The cut-off date test suggests the status on that day decides, but that is our reading, not the notice’s wording.
- Whether marks matter at all. No minimum percentage is mentioned.
If you fall into one of those groups, resolve it from the notice’s terms-and-conditions contact before paying a fee that, as reported, is not refundable.
Age limit and the date-of-birth window
The limit is 18 to 35 years as on 21 November 2026. Taking that at face value, the youngest eligible candidate was born on or before 21 November 2008. The oldest was born on or after 22 November 1990, because someone born on 21 November 1990 turns 36 on the cut-off date. That is our arithmetic, assuming the notice counts completed years. If your birthday falls within a few days of either end, check the exact wording.
Ex-Servicemen get an upper-age relaxation equal to the years of defence service plus 3 years, as reported. The benefits for Ex-Servicemen (reservation, fee and age) are for the Ex-Servicemen themselves, not for their dependents.
The summary page says only two documents are accepted as proof of date of birth:
- the Matriculation certificate from a recognised board, for candidates who have passed matric or above, and
- the Birth Certificate issued by the Registrar of Births and Deaths, for candidates qualified below matric.
If that rule holds, a Class 12 candidate should use the Class 10 certificate for the date of birth, not the Class 12 marksheet. Check that the name and date of birth on your certificate match what you type into the form. A mismatch is the sort of thing that surfaces at document checking, after you have already paid.
Reservation and domicile
Per the summary page, SC, ST and BC reservation and fee relaxation are available only to candidates who hold a certificate from Punjab, Haryana or the U.T. of Chandigarh and who are also domiciled or permanent residents there. SC, ST and BC candidates from other states must apply as General. BC candidates must not be in the creamy layer, and the certificate has to be the latest one. The category you choose cannot be changed after you submit the form.
For a candidate from a neighbouring state this is the single most expensive mistake. You pay the General fee, you compete in the General pool, and picking the wrong category does not make the form fixable later.
Application fee
This table comes from the summary page only. Verify it against the notice.
| Category | Fee |
|---|---|
| General | Rs. 700 |
| SC / ST / BC | Rs. 600 |
| Ex-Servicemen | Rs. 600 |
| Dependents of Ex-Servicemen disabled or killed in active operations | No fee |
The fee is paid online, is reported as non-refundable, and online transaction charges are extra. Dependents claiming the exemption must upload proof with the form and show the original at testimonials checking. The fee deadline is the same as the application deadline, 21 November.
Selection process 2026
The notice, as summarised by several portals, describes no written test. Selection is by interview carrying 50 marks. The summary page splits the marks as 25 for suitability to the job and 25 for etiquette and manners.
Two details change how you should read that:
- Depending on the number of applications, the High Court may apply a shortlisting criterion to decide who is called for the interview. Meeting the eligibility rules does not guarantee a call. The summaries do not say what the shortlisting criterion would be, so no one can tell you how many applicants will reach the interview stage.
- Original documents are checked at a stage called testimonials checking. A candidate who cannot show an original when asked is reported to lose the candidature.
No TA or DA is paid for any stage, as reported.
Because there is no written test, there is no syllabus, exam pattern, answer key or cut-off mark to publish for this recruitment, and previous-year cut-offs do not apply. Any website that lists a “PHHC Chowkidar syllabus 2026” or a cut-off for this notice is writing from imagination. The earlier 2022 recruitment appears to have run differently: a High Court notice for Advt. No. 03/CHK/HC/2022 refers to an “Examination Date, Time and Venue”. Do not assume the 2022 format carries over. This round, as reported, is interview only.
The tie-break rule for candidates with equal interview marks is not mentioned in the summaries.
Salary and job profile
According to the summary page, the notice does not print a rupee amount. Pay is governed by the latest Government of Punjab rules adopted by the High Court for its employees. If you see a specific monthly figure on a portal, check whether it cites the notice. An older High Court notice for Class IV posts quotes a pay band, but that is from 2014 and should not be used for 2026.
The posts are on the establishment of the High Court at Chandigarh. Other service terms are governed by the High Court Establishment (Appointment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1973, as amended. The notice reportedly warns that duty hours can extend beyond normal working hours and can fall at odd hours.
The summaries do not itemise duties. The title points to watch-and-ward work, and Adda247 describes the 2022 post as Chowkidar (Security Guard). The odd-hours clause is the practical detail to weigh before applying.
How to apply online
The steps below follow the summary page. The form is reportedly available only through the official website, www.highcourtchd.gov.in. Enter through that site rather than a link forwarded on WhatsApp.
- Read the full employment notice before opening the form.
- Register with your own valid email address and mobile number, and do not change them afterwards, because updates are sent there.
- Fill in every detail carefully, especially the category.
- Upload a recent passport-size photograph, reported as not older than 30 days and on a white background, and your signature. Forms without a proper photo and signature are reportedly rejected.
- Upload scanned copies of any FIR, conviction or acquittal orders if they apply to you, and the fee-relaxation proof if you are a dependent claiming it.
- Recheck everything, then pay the fee online by internet banking, debit card or credit card.
- Print the form, and keep five copies of the same photograph for later stages.
Only one application is allowed for a category. If you submit more than one, only the latest is considered.
Documents and annexures to keep ready
| Document | Who needs it |
|---|---|
| Annexure I: declaration on creamy layer status | BC candidates |
| Annexure II: forwarding letter or NOC from the Head of Department | Candidates working in government or semi-government departments, corporations, boards or PSUs |
| Annexure III: affidavit on close relatives working in the High Court or district courts of Punjab, Haryana or Chandigarh | All candidates |
| Annexure IV: affidavit on previous employment | Candidates with earlier jobs in government bodies or PSUs |
| Annexure V: affidavit that qualification is not above 10+2 | All candidates |
| Application copy with self-attested complete discharge book | Ex-Servicemen |
Annexures III, IV and V must be attested by a Notary Public. Also keep proof of qualification, proof of date of birth and your caste certificate if applicable. Regular government employees must take an NOC when applying. Contract or ad hoc workers in government offices apply as non-departmental candidates.
Book the notary early. Three affidavits need stamping and signing, and a rushed visit in the last week is how candidates end up with a wrong format or a missing annexure on the day of document checking.
Mistakes that cost candidates their application
The mistakes below are ordered by how hard they are to undo.
The ones you cannot fix. Applying with a qualification above 10+2 sinks the application, and the affidavit makes it worse. Choosing the wrong category cannot be reversed after submission. The fee is reported as non-refundable, so a payment made before you checked eligibility is gone.
The ones that surface late. Annexures III, IV and V without notary attestation. A photograph older than 30 days or without a white background. A date of birth that does not match the certificate. These do not show up when you submit. They show up at testimonials checking, when you are standing in front of the officials with the original and no time to change it.
The slow ones. Changing your email or mobile number after registering, so that the admit card alert never reaches you. Submitting more than one application. Not saving a printout and five spare photographs.
Nothing in this list needs special knowledge. It needs one read of the notice before you open the form.
Preparing for the interview
The following is general advice and not official instructions.
Half the marks reportedly go to etiquette and manners, so how you enter, greet, sit and speak counts as much as what you say. Answer questions about your education, family and work simply and truthfully, because the documents are checked and any inconsistency will show. For the suitability half, talk about being punctual, alert and ready to work odd hours, since the notice itself warns about those hours.
The summary page lists the interview-day rules: the e-admit card carries a photograph, either attested by a Gazetted Officer or self-attested, which must match the photograph you uploaded or entry can be refused. Mobile phones, other electronic devices, watches, ornaments and baggage are reportedly not allowed inside the centre. Reach the venue early with your e-admit card and originals.
What happens after 21 November
The sequence, as the notice reportedly describes it, runs like this: applications close, the High Court may shortlist depending on numbers, e-admit cards go to eligible candidates, interviews are held, originals are checked at testimonials checking, and a merit list leads to recommendations. No stage after the closing date has been dated, and we found no schedule from the previous cycle to compare with. Check the High Court website regularly, because the date, time and venue are to be posted only there.
Not the same as the court clerk recruitment
This is the High Court’s own Chowkidar recruitment. Portal reports separately mention a 1,270-post court clerk recruitment for subordinate courts run through the Society for Centralized Recruitment of Staff in Subordinate Courts. That is a different recruitment with its own rules, dates and fee. Do not apply for one using the other’s notice.
| Apply Online (Open till 21 November 2026) | click here |
| Download Official Notification PDF (Notice No. 06/CHK/HC/2026) | click here |
| Official Website | click here |
FAQs
I passed Class 12 and I’m in the first year of a degree. Can I apply? The notice, as summarised, bars candidates qualified above 10+2 and tests that on 21 November. The summaries don’t say how a part-completed degree is treated. Resolve this from the notice’s terms-and-conditions contact before you pay.
I’m an SC candidate from Rajasthan. Which category do I choose? Per the summary page, SC, ST and BC benefits are only for certificate holders who are also domiciled in Punjab, Haryana or Chandigarh. Candidates from elsewhere must apply as General and pay the General fee. The category cannot be changed after submission.
Is there a syllabus, exam pattern or cut-off? Not as described. Selection is a 50-mark interview with no written test, so there is nothing to publish under those headings. Be cautious of any site that shows them.
What is the salary? The notice reportedly prints no amount. Pay follows the latest Government of Punjab rules adopted by the High Court. Use only figures that cite the notice.
Can I pay the fee after the last date? The fee deadline is reported as the same as the application deadline, 21 November, 11:59 PM. Pay when you submit.