SC stays HC order for CBI probe into UP Vidhan Sabha recruitment

A bench comprising justices Hrishikesh Roy and Sanjay Karol stayed the CBI probe till the next day of the hearing and issued notice on the plea filed by the Legislative Council of UP and Uttar Pradesh government challenging the High Court's order, which was delivered on September 18, 2023.

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Allahabad High Court, Lucknow bench, order for a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in staff appointments to the Secretariats of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly and Council in 2022-23. A bench comprising justices Hrishikesh Roy and Sanjay Karol stayed the CBI probe till the next day of the hearing and issued notice on the plea filed by the Legislative Council of UP and Uttar Pradesh government challenging the High Court's order, which was delivered on September 18, 2023. Advocate Ankit Roy represented three private parties--Sushil Kumar, Amrish Kumar and Ajay Kumar Tripathi -- before the apex court, who were petitioners in the High Court.

Roy contended to make the CBI a party in the case before the Supreme Court as the High Court had directed the CBI to conduct a preliminary inquiry (PE) on September 18 and the CBI registered the preliminary inquiry on September 22. However, the apex court did not accept his contention at this stage. The council’s plea said, “By the said Impugned Order, the Hon'ble High Court has without any material on record or hearing on the issue, ordered a CBI inquiry into the recruitment conducted by the petitioners as per the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council Secretariat (Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1976, as amended in 2019”.

The plea contended that a perusal of the High Court would clearly demonstrate that the court has, without any basis, presumed that the selection process for recruitment to the Secretariat of the UP Legislative Council, which was done through an external agency chosen by the Chairman of the Council as per Rule 22(2) of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council Secretariat (Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1976, was tainted with criminality.

“The Hon'ble High Court has also failed to appreciate that the appellants before it were unsuccessful candidates, who had participated in the recruitment process under the said 2019 amendment, and had only challenged the same when they failed in the same”, said the plea.

In September, the High Court ordered a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in staff appointments to the Secretariats of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly and Council in 2022-23. While ordering a CBI probe into the allegations, a bench of justices AR Masoodi and Om Prakash Shukla directed the CBI to submit its preliminary report within six weeks. The High Court order came on a bunch of petitions, including a special appeal and writ, filed by private individuals alleging multiple irregularities in the recruitment process.