Himachal HC quashes appointment of Parliamentary Secretaries and demands immediate withdrawal of facilities | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: In a major setback for chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the Himachal Pradesh High Court the appointment of six was annulled on Wednesday parliamentary secretaries and annulled the law under which the appointments were made. It also ordered the immediate withdrawal of all facilities and privileges granted to the top officials.
Delivering the verdict, Justice Bipin Chander Negi said the posts are “usurpers of public property and all facilities be withdrawn with immediate effect.” The court declared the Himachal Pradesh Parliamentary Secretaries (Appointment, Salaries, Allowances, Powers, Privileges and Amendments) Act, 2006 invalid.
As of January 2023, Himachal government had appointed six Congresses MLAs serve as chief secretaries of parliament.
The appointees included Sunder Singh Thakur representing Kullu Assembly constituency, Mohan Lal Brakta from Rohru Assembly constituency in Shimla district, Ram Kumar Chaudhary from Doon Assembly constituency in Solan district, Ashish Butail from Palampur Assembly constituency, Kishori Lal from Baijnath Assembly constituency in Kangra district, and Sanjay Awasthi from Arki Assembly constituency in the district of Solan.
The appointment of the chief parliamentary secretaries was challenged in the Supreme Court by 12 BJP MLAs.
Referring specifically to the appointments of six chief secretaries of Parliament, the petition argued that the state does not have the power to create new legislative offices beyond those explicitly enshrined in the Constitution.
The petition emphasized that Articles 178 and 187 of the Constitution, which covers “officers of the state legislature,” recognizes only three official positions: the Speaker, the Vice-Speaker, and the Secretariat Staff.