'Can't Remove Officials On Mere Change Of Govt Without Any Reason' : Bombay High Court Seeks Reasons For Removal Of MVA Appointments

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday remarked that even if appointments and removal of members of various statutory boards, commissions and committees are at political will, there must be some reason given.

"I have taken a view [in the past] that even if appointment and removal is on the pleasure of the government, there must be some reason specified. We will not go into whether reason is sufficient or not but there must be a reason," Justice SV Gangapurwala heading the bench said.

Justices Gangapurwala and MS Karnik directed the Maharashtra Government to file a reply and explain its reasons for removing the chairman and members of the SC/ST Commission appointed by the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) Government.

The petitioners have challenged the State's decision to halt 100s of tribal development projects, welfare schemes, and remove heads of statutory bodies after the change in government.

On Wednesday, Advocate Satish Talekar along with Advocate Madhavi Ayyapan informed the bench that pursuant to CM Eknath Shinde's directions, on July 21, 2022, the Deputy Secretary of the Tribal Development Department began cancelling the appointment of 197 non-official members appointed on 29 Tribal projects prematurely.

This included petitioner - chairman of SC/ST commission Jagannath Abhiyankar and other members of the commission. Petitioner Retd IAS officer Kishore Gajbhiye is espousing the cause of tribals. However, the bench said it would restrict itself to the petitioners' cause.

"Appointments and removal are all political. They are appointed because of their affiliation!," Justice Gangapurwala said before adding that a reason is a must.

"We will be considering this case only to the extent of petitioners, not others," he said before directing the state to file its reply and posted the matter for hearing on August 17, 2022.

Government Pleader PP Kakade opposed the petition but agreed to file a reply to the petition.

Background

It is the petitioners' case that soon after CM Eknath Shinde was sworn in as the CM, the Maharashtra Government directed to stay works already granted administrative approval by the previous MVA government led by CM Uddhav Thackeray. CM Shinde had rebelled along with 40 other Shiv Sena MLAs and formed government with the support of BJP.

The decision to cancel the appointment of members on various statutory boards, commissions and committees prematurely is malafide and nothing but an act of political expediency," the petition read.

The petitioners have further claimed that the earlier MVA government had taken several policy decisions and accorded administrative approval to various schemes under the Bharat Ratna Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Social Development Scheme." Atleast 12 works under this policy have been stayed.

"..The Chief Minister is not empowered either under the constitution of under the Conduct of Business Rules framed under Article 166 of the Constitution of India to stay or nullify the decisions of the earlier government which were lawfully taken," the plea said.