Upholding Constitutional Provisions
In a significant judicial development, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has issued an interim order that effectively restricts the six Chief Parliamentary Secretaries (CPS) appointed by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu from enjoying the privileges typically granted to cabinet rank ministers. This decision, passed by a division bench comprising Justice Vivek Thakur and Justice Sandeep Sharma, came in response to a writ petition filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), challenging the appointment of these secretaries.
Advocate General Anup Rattan, commenting on the court’s decision, stated,
“In an interim order, the high court on Wednesday said the CPS cannot work as ministers. We had in our reply submitted earlier that the CPS can assist the ministers and give suggestions but cannot give approval.”
He further clarified that according to Section 4 of the Himachal Pradesh Parliamentary Secretaries Appointment and Salary, Allowance, Privileges, Amenities Act-2006, the Parliamentary secretaries and chief parliamentary secretaries are not authorized to approve any action of the state government.
The BJP’s contention, as articulated by senior advocate Satpal Jain, was that the current Congress government had appointed six of its MLAs as CPS, a move that prompted the party to approach the high court. Jain emphasized,
“The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had maintained in the petition that there is no provision for the post of chief parliamentary secretaries in the Constitution and under Article 164 of the Constitution of India, not more than 15% of the cabinet can be formed in the state, which is 12 in Himachal, but after the appointment of chief parliamentary secretaries, this number reaches 18.”
He further added,
“Today, the decision has come on this application and the high court has banned the CPS from taking work and facilities on the status of ministers. Now, their six chief parliamentary secretaries will not get any facility of ministerial status.”
This ruling necessitates that the six CPS – Sanjay Awasthi, Sundar Singh, Ram Kumar, Mohan Lal Brakta, Ashish Butail, and Kishori Lal – relinquish their ministerial-level facilities.
The BJP also referenced judgments from Assam, Manipur, and Punjab provinces, where similar appointments were deemed unconstitutional. In response, the Congress government sought to transfer the case to the Supreme Court under Article 139A of the Constitution, arguing that the petitions had legal similarities with cases pending in the Supreme Court. However, this plea was rejected by the division bench of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
The appointments of Chief Parliamentary Secretaries have been a contentious issue, with these officials being allotted offices in the Himachal Pradesh secretariat, staff, and official departments from the general administration department, as well as official bungalows. The High Court’s ruling marks a significant step in addressing the constitutional validity of such appointments and their alignment with the provisions of the Indian Constitution. The next hearing on this matter is scheduled for March 12, where further developments are expected.