NEW DELHI: In a major setback for chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the Himachal Pradesh High Court on Wednesday nullified the appointment of six parliamentary secretaries and declared the law under which the appointments were made as void. It also ordered the immediate withdrawal of all facilities and privileges afforded to the top officials.
Pronouncing the judgment, Justice Bipin Chander Negi said the posts are “usurpers of public property and all facilities be withdrawn with immediate effect”.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, allowance, powers, privileges and Amendments) Act, 2006 as void.
In January 2023, the Himachal government had appointed six Congress MLAs to serve as chief parliamentary secretaries.
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 Solan district.
The appointment of chief parliamentary secretaries was challenged in the High Court by 12 BJP MLAs.
Referring specifically to the appointments of six chief parliamentary secretaries, the petition argued that the state lacks the authority to create new legislative offices beyond those explicitly outlined in the Constitution.
The petition highlighted that Articles 178 and 187 of the Constitution, which address “Officers of the State Legislature”, only recognises three official positions: the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, and the Secretariat Staff.