Himachal Pradesh High Court Raps Govt For Seeking Repeated Adjourments In Pleas Challenging Dy CM, CPS Appointments
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has come down hard on the state government for its repeated requests for adjournments in a plea challenging the appointment of the Deputy Chief Minister and six Chief Parliamentary Secretaries (CPS). The bench expressed its displeasure when the Advocate General, who was supposed to represent the state government in court, expressed his inability to argue the...
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has come down hard on the state government for its repeated requests for adjournments in a plea challenging the appointment of the Deputy Chief Minister and six Chief Parliamentary Secretaries (CPS).
The bench expressed its displeasure when the Advocate General, who was supposed to represent the state government in court, expressed his inability to argue the case. He had submitted that the State was in the process of engaging Senior Counsels to defend the case on behalf of the respondent State.
Background of the Case:
Twelve BJP MLAs had filed a petition before the High Court challenging the appointment of six parliamentary secretaries, including the Deputy Chief Minister, Mukesh Agnihotri, from the Congress party. The petitioners contended that the creation of such posts lacked any legal backing as there is no provision for a Deputy Chief Minister or Chief Parliamentary Secretaries under the Constitution of India or any state law.
Yesterday the Advocate General, who is supposed to represent the state government in court, expressed his inability to argue the case. He informed the court that the government had decided to engage senior advocates to defend the appointments. However, these advocates were unavailable on the given date.
Critical of the state government's approach the bench comprising Justices Vivek Singh Thakur and Bipin C. Negi pointed out that adjournments had already been granted on three previous occasions (October 16, 2023, December 7, 2023, and January 3, 2024) to accommodate the state's requests.
“On previous date 02.04.2024, it had been unambiguously ordered by this Court that the case shall be heard and concluded on a day-to-day basis by commencing hearing with effect from today i.e. on 22.04.2024”, the bench remarked.
The court noted that the communication regarding the engagement of senior advocates was dated March 27, 2024. This indicated sufficient time was available for the state to arrange legal representation.
The Advocate General clarified that his inability to appear earlier was solely due to the decision to engage senior advocates. He assured the court that his absence on previous dates was not intentional.
Given the state's unpreparedness, the court allowed the private respondents' counsel to present their arguments. However, the hearing has been adjourned for today, April 24, 2024.
Case Title: Kalpana Devi vs. State of H.P a/w connected matter