NEW DELHI: Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government of Himachal Pradesh has rushed to Supreme Court seeking to validate appointment of six parliamentary secretaries based on a 2006 state law that was quashed by high court two days ago for being illegal and unconstitutional.
The Sukhu government, facing internal dissension for some time which was reflected in the loss of Congress candidate A M Singhvi after a tie with the BJP candidate in Rajya Sabha election in February, revealed its real apprehension.
“The legal consequence would be that six parliamentary secretaries, who are also MLAs, are likely to face disqualification under Article 192 of the Constitution as the protection granted to them from the office of profit norms has been taken away, without adjudication, causing political instability,” the state government said.
It questioned the correctness of HC’s November 13 judgment and sought a stay. The appeal is likely to be mentioned before CJI Sanjiv Khanna for urgent hearing on Monday.
The state government said HC erred in finding similarities between Himachal Pradesh Parliament Secretaries (Appointment, Salaries, Allowances, Powers, Privileges and Amenities) Act, enacted in 2006 by the Congress government led by Virbhadra Singh, and Assam Parliamentary Secretaries (Appointment, Salaries and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2004, which was enacted by the Tarun Gogoi-led Congress government.
It said while the Assam law gave status of minister to parliamentary secretaries, it was not so under the Himachal law.
The Sukhu government said even though parliamentary secretaries in the state did not draw salaries equivalent to ministers, HC undertook a “hairsplitting exercise” to equate parliamentary secretaries as part of political executive, even though they did not perform any executive function.
Senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for a petitioner Bharatiya JanataParty MLA, had countered the state’s arguments, advanced by senior advocates Dushyant Dave and Vivek Tankha, by placing reliance on the SC judgment quashing the Assam law, an argument which was accepted by the HC.