New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice on a plea filed by the Himachal Pradesh government challenging an order of the high court, which nullified a 2006 state law permitting the state to appoint members of the state legislative assembly as parliamentary secretaries.
The matter came up before a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar. The apex court put on hold the direction passed by the high court, till the next date of hearing before the apex court, to initiate disqualification proceedings against the MLAs who were appointed as parliamentary secretaries. The CJI orally said that there should not be any appointments of MLAs as secretaries in the meantime.
The apex court gave two weeks' time to the respondents to file their counter-affidavits and two weeks' time thereafter for the state government to file its rejoinder.
Himachal Pradesh has moved the Supreme Court against the high court order, which quashed the appointment of six chief parliamentary secretaries (CPS) by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led government and declared the law under which they were appointed void.
The state government, in the appeal, has sought authorisation of the appointment of six parliamentary secretaries and said that the high court order was “bad in law” and sought a stay on the HC direction.
On November 13, the Himachal Pradesh high court quashed the appointment of six chief parliamentary secretaries by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led government and declared the law under which they were appointed void.
The high court, while quashing the appointment, had also directed that all the facilities and privileges of the six chief parliamentary secretaries be withdrawn with immediate effect.
The high court had declared the Himachal Pradesh Parliamentary Secretaries (Appointment, Salaries, Allowances, Powers, Privileges and Amenities) Act, 2006 as void. The high court had said the officials are usurpers of public office and all facilities extended to them be withdrawn with immediate effect.
Sukhu had appointed the six chief parliamentary secretaries — Sanjay Awasthi, the MLA from the Arki Assembly constituency, Sunder Singh from Kullu, Ram Kumar from Doon, Mohan Lal Barakta from Rohru, Ashish Butail from Palampur and Kishori Lal from Baijnath — on January 8, 2023 ahead of his cabinet expansion.
