High court hearing in H. P CPS matter deferred till April 2

Himachalscape bureau March 12, 2024 3 minutes read

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Shimla, Mar 12,

The Himachal Pradesh High court to day defer the matter of Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) till April 2 after hearing the argument of petitioners Ankush Dass and Sr counsel Satypal Jain (online) on Tuesday. A double bench of the high court fixed the matter for April 2 after hearing both parties for two hours.

Advocate Ankush Dass plead that there are several judgements in the appointment of CPS concerning Jharkhand, Manipur, Assam and Punjab but none of these judgements supports the case of the respondent CPS.

Meanwhile, the counsel for the petitioner stated that no constitutional provisions provides the power to State and legislature to create posts for MLAs and HP Chief Parliamentary Secretaries and Parliamentary Secretaries acts is exceeded its constitutional power. Earlier to this appearing for the 11 BJP MLAs in the court online Satyapal Jain also completed the argument.

The court said that the argument of petitioners would continue in the matter on next hearing.

Noteworthy that earlier before going for a winter break, the Court had directed the state government to refrain from providing benefits and facilities to six Chief Parliamentary Secretaries (CPS) on par with Cabinet rank ministers. The court had ruled that these CPS individuals cannot perform the role of ministers and should relinquish their duties.

Senior Counsel Satya Jain, had stated that the division bench, consisting of Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Sandeep Sharma, had issued an interim order preventing the six CPS from receiving salaries and other benefits equivalent to those provided to Cabinet rank ministers. The court had cited Article 164 of the Indian Constitution, emphasizing that the size of the council of ministers should not exceed 15 percent of the legislature. The court deemed it a violation of this article for the CPS to enjoy the same privileges as Cabinet ministers.

Jain had highlighted that the petitioner referred to a Supreme Court judgment related to a similar appointment in Assam, which resulted in the annulment of the appointment. Similar appointments in the states of Manipur, Punjab, and Delhi were also struck down by the court, as per the material presented before the court.

Notably after making government Chief Minister Sukhu had appointed CPS individuals, namely Sanjay Awasthi from Arki, Sundar Singh Thakur from Kullu, Ram Kumar from Doon, Mohan Lal Barakta from Rohru, Ashish Butel from Palampur, and Kishori Lal from Baijnath.

Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri and senior officers of Rajbhavan and the state government were also parties in the petition filed by the 11 BJP MLAs. The Deputy Chief Minister was removed from the case as the petitioner did not insist on his involvement, and the high court disassociated him from the proceedings.

In the matter the State government even filed a a transfer petition, which was turned down by the Apex court. Also read: SC dismisses State Govt transfer petition in CPS case

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