Shimla, Sept 23,
During the second consecutive day of hearing the Himachal Pradesh High Court on Tuesday directed the Union Government to produce, through a special messenger, the official file relating to the sanction for prosecution of Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena, whose six-month service extension is under challenge.
The matter came up before a division bench comprising Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Ranjan Sharma in connected petitions, including the PIL filed by Atul Sharma questioning Saxena’s extension and vigilance clearance.
During the proceedings, Additional Solicitor General of India S.D. Sanjay appeared through video conferencing and clarified that the file containing notings on the sanction of prosecution was indeed available and could be produced if so directed. The bench, noting that the arguments were already underway, asked the Centre to ensure that the file is brought before the Court for perusal.
Earlier in the day, Advocate General Anup Rattan concluded arguments on behalf of the State. Senior counsel Peeyush Verma represented the petitioner in CWPIL No. 26, while Ankush Dass Sood appeared for the petitioner in CWPIL No. 38. Senior advocate Shrawan Dogra represented Saxena in the matter.
The court has now listed the case for further hearing on Wednesday, September 24, marking it the third consecutive day of proceedings in the high-profile matter.
Background
The petitions challenge the March 28, 2025 order extending Saxena’s tenure as Chief Secretary by six months despite a pending CBI chargesheet. The petitioner has also questioned the vigilance clearance that allowed Saxena to appear for the interview for the post of Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (HPERC). Earlier hearings saw the bench summoning complete records from both the Union and the State, including details of the “public interest†cited while granting the extension.
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