A PIL has challenged CM Vishnu Deo Sai’s move to expand the Chhattisgarh cabinet to 14 ministers, exceeding the constitutional limit of 13. The High Court will hear the state’s reply on September 2.
RAIPUR: A legal dispute has started in Chhattisgarh after the recent expansion of Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai’s cabinet. With the addition of three new ministers, the total strength of the cabinet has now gone up to 14.
A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed against this move, and the Chhattisgarh High Court heard the matter on Friday.
The case was taken up by a division bench led by Chief Justice Ramesh Kumar Sinha and Justice Bibhu Dutt Guru. The court has asked the petitioner, Basdev Chakrabarty, to provide more information about his background, details of his social work, and proof of public interest.
At the same time, the state government has also been directed to submit its reply through an affidavit before the next hearing, which is scheduled for Tuesday, September 2.
The petition makes Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai and all the ministers in his cabinet parties to the case. The controversy started when three new ministers—Rajesh Agrawal, Guru Khushwant Saheb, and Gajendra Yadav—were sworn in on August 20. This raised the total number of ministers from 11 to 14.
As per Article 164(1A) of the Indian Constitution, the total number of ministers, including the Chief Minister, cannot be more than 15 percent of the total strength of the Legislative Assembly.
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Since the Chhattisgarh Assembly has 90 members, the cabinet limit comes to 13.5. This means that technically the state can only have a maximum of 13 ministers.
To defend its decision, the Sai government has argued that it is following what it called the “Haryana model”, where a 90-member Assembly has been allowed to appoint 14 ministers.
However, many critics have strongly opposed this reasoning. They say that without the formal approval of the Central Government, the expansion is not valid and goes against the Constitution.
Former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel directly attacked the move and called it “unconstitutional”, questioning whether the BJP-led government had obtained the required clearance before making the appointments.
Meanwhile, the Congress has also raised allegations that the ruling BJP has ignored senior leaders and instead given ministerial posts to first-time MLAs. Political observers believe that in order to avoid further legal trouble, the Sai government may be forced to drop one minister to bring the cabinet back within the legal limit.
The High Court’s next hearing is now being seen as very crucial. Its decision could decide if the present cabinet structure of the Sai government will stay as it is or if it will have to be cut down.
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