Shimla, Apr 2
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has decided to hear arguments in the petition against the appointment of six Chief Parliamentary Secretaries by the Himachal Pradesh Government from April 22 to 24. A division bench comprising Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Bipin Chandra Negi passed an order on Tuesday scheduling the hearing for three days in the case of Kalpana Singh versus State of Himachal Pradesh and others.
Interacting with the media after the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel, Sanjay Kumar, stated that the petition, filed in April 2023, could not be heard on the scheduled day. He further mentioned that the petitioner challenged the constitutional validity of the CPS Act, and the bench would now hear the matter during a single hearing over the next three dates.
Petitioners Kalpana Devi and 12 BJP MLAs filed a public interest litigation challenging the appointments of six CPS by the Himachal Pradesh Government. Counsel Sanjay Kumar pleaded before the bench that the case has been pending for a year as the respondent state frequently seeks adjournments. He alleged that the government is attempting to delay the case by linking it with another similar matter pending before the Supreme Court.
Sanjay Kumar informed that since the Supreme Court is expected to hear the CPS matter on April 26, the High Court would deliver its decision afterward. Previously, the petitioner argued before the High Court that the appointment of CPS was declared unconstitutional in similar cases in Manipur and Assam, thus the appointments in Himachal Pradesh should also be deemed unconstitutional.
The petitioner highlighted in the reply submitted by the state of Himachal Pradesh that CPS are enjoying higher salaries and perks akin to MLAs and cabinet ministers, including the use of state government vehicles with flags and red beacons.
It is noteworthy that the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government appointed six Chief Parliamentary Secretaries in 2022, including Sundar Singh of Kullu, Kishor Lal from Baijnath, Ashish Butail from Palampur, Sanjay Awasthi from Arki, Mohan Bragta from Rohru, and Ram Kumar from Doon assembly.
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