Himachal high court to hear CPS appointment case for three days from today
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TNR Desk
The Himachal Pradesh High Court will on Monday (April 22, 2024) resume proceedings in the Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) case. In the previous hearing, the court emphasised the urgency of the matter and has scheduled hearings for three consecutive days from April 22 to 24. During these sessions, arguments will be presented by the petitioner as well as by the CPSes and the government, who are respondents in the case.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has appointed six Congress MLAs as CPS. Eleven MLAs from the Opposition BJP along with members of the People for Responsible Governance, an NGO, have contested these appointments in the high court, alleging their unconstitutionality. In response to their petition, the high court issued an interim order in January, restraining the CPSes from exercising powers akin to ministers.
Six MLAs who made the cut
The state government sought to transfer the case to the Supreme Court (SC), requesting its consolidation with CPS cases from other states. However, the SC rejected this plea, directing the high court to proceed with the matter. The six Congress MLAs appointed as CPS by CM Sukhu are ML Brakta from Rohru, Sunder Singh Thakur from Kullu, Sanjay Awasthy from Arki, Ashish Butail from Palampur, Ram Kumar Chaudhary from Doon and Kishori Lal from Baijnath. These CPS members are provided with vehicles, office, staff and salaries equivalent to ministers.
Citing Assam, Manipur case
As per the amendment to Article 164 of the Indian Constitution, a state can have a maximum of 15 per cent of its total MLAs as ministers. With 68 MLAs in the Himachal Assembly, the maximum number of ministers permissible is 12. The petition highlights that the legislation regarding the appointment of Parliamentary Secretaries in Himachal and Assam is identical.
The Supreme Court has invalidated similar legislation pertaining to the appointment of Parliamentary Secretaries in Assam and Manipur. Despite this precedent, the Himachal Pradesh Congress government appointed its MLAs as CPS, causing the total number of ministers and CPS members in the state to surpass 15 per cent.
Salary on par with ministers
During the ongoing case proceedings, the high court, responding to the petitioner’s plea, has designated all six Congress MLAs appointed as CPS as personal defendants. The petition alleges that these CPSes hold positions of profit, receiving a monthly salary and allowances amounting to Rs 2,20,000, equivalent to those of state ministers.
