Shimla, Sept 22,
Arguments from the petitioner’s side were concluded in the Himachal Pradesh High Court on Monday in the hearing of the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the extension of service granted to Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena, a 1990-batch IAS officer. The matter was taken up by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Ranjan Sharma.
Petitioner Atul Sharma concluded his arguments during the hearing, questioning the legality of the extension on the grounds that Saxena faces corruption charges and has been categorized as an “Officer of Doubtful Integrity.†He contended that the extension was granted in violation of Department of Personnel (DoPD) guidelines and despite a pending investigation.
The petitioner also objected to Saxena’s recent interview for the post of Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (HPERC), claiming he had written to members of the interview panel, Justice V.K. Sharma and Jishnu Barwah, as well as to Secretary Rakesh Kanwar, regarding the matter of vigilance clearance. The court has now directed that the vigilance clearance granted to Saxena be placed on record.
Also read: Petition seeks review of Vigilance Clearance for Chief Secretary Saxena’s HPERC candidature
During the proceedings, the Union government questioned the petitioner’s locus standi, but the bench rejected the objection. The case has been listed for further hearing on Tuesday afternoon.
This issue comes against the backdrop of an earlier order of March 28, 2025, through which the state government extended Saxena’s tenure as Chief Secretary by six months. That decision is under challenge in the PIL, with the court already having summoned records from both the Centre and the state to examine the justification of the extension and the grounds of “public interest†cited for it.
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