Shimla, Aug 13,
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has summoned the entire record from the Central and State Governments to examine the justification for granting a six-month extension to Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena.
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A division bench of Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Ranjan Sharma, during Wednesday’s hearing, asked the Union Government to specify the exact reason and the nature of public interest cited while approving the extension. The bench also sought clarity on the legal authority under which the Centre granted the approval. The matter will be taken up again on September 3.
The Union Government, in its reply, stated that the State Government’s request to extend Saxena’s tenure was accepted in view of public interest. However, the court directed both governments to produce all related records for scrutiny.
The PIL, filed by petitioner Atul Sharma, seeks cancellation of the March 28, 2025 order that extended Saxena’s service till September 30, 2025.
The petition alleges that despite facing corruption charges, Saxena’s name was omitted from the list of officers with doubtful integrity, allegedly violating Article 123 of the Constitution.
According to the petition, on October 21, 2019, the Special Judge under the Anti-Corruption Act at Rouse Avenue Court, New Delhi, took cognizance of a CBI chargesheet against Saxena.
The CBI, in a January 23, 2025 letter, confirmed the pending criminal case. It is further alleged that the full vigilance report was not placed before the Centre before granting the extension.
The petitioner has also drawn the court’s attention to concerns raised by the Parliamentary Committee on Administrative Reforms over the misuse of service extensions to shield bureaucrats under investigation. Saxena is accused of misusing his position during his tenure as Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary (Finance).
He is also named as accused in the INX media case along with former Minister P. Chidambram.
