Himachal Government Approaches Supreme Court Against Decision to Remove Chief Parliamentary Secretaries
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Shimla, November 15: The issue of removing all six Chief Parliamentary Secretaries in Himachal Pradesh has been taken to the Supreme Court. The Congress-led state government has challenged the Himachal Pradesh High Court’s decision, which ordered their removal and the repeal of the Himachal Pradesh CPS and PS Act of 2006. In the Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed on Thursday evening, the state government has requested a stay on the High Court’s ruling.
Two days ago, the Himachal High Court ruled that all six Chief Parliamentary Secretaries should be removed immediately and their facilities withdrawn. In compliance with the court’s order, the government has vacated the offices of the Chief Parliamentary Secretaries. The staff assigned to their offices has been called back, and their vehicle facilities have been discontinued. Additionally, they have been instructed to vacate the government bungalows within a month. Anup Ratna, the Advocate General for the state government, confirmed that a petition has been filed in the Supreme Court on behalf of the government.
After the High Court’s decision, he said in Shimla that the court had based its ruling on the Assam case. He added that the government would challenge the decision in the Supreme Court, arguing that the CPS Act in Himachal Pradesh is different from the one in Assam. In Assam, CPS officials were given the same powers and facilities as ministers, but in Himachal, CPS officials do not have such powers.
On the other hand, a caveat has been filed in the Supreme Court on behalf of the petitioner BJP leaders, ensuring that their side is also heard during the hearing. According to the senior advocate handling BJP-related cases, the caveat was filed on Thursday in anticipation of the state government approaching the Supreme Court.
The opposition party, BJP, is closely monitoring the next steps in this legal battle. BJP has also demanded the dismissal of the assembly membership of the removed Chief Parliamentary Secretaries, citing the issue of Office of Profit as the reason.
The state High Court has declared the appointment of six Chief Parliamentary Secretaries unconstitutional and ordered their removal. The appointed individuals include MLA Sanjay Awasthy from Arki, Sunder Singh from Kullu, Ram Kumar from Doon, Mohan Lal Brakta from Rohru, Ashish Butail from Palampur, and Kishori Lal from Baijnath. The Sukhu government had appointed them as Chief Parliamentary Secretaries in January 2023.
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