Punjab Govt Challenges Order cancelling Ex- IAS Officer Suresh Kumar's Appointment
The Punjab government filed the appeal before a division bench of Punjab and Haryana high court challenging the decision of cancellation of appointment of Suresh Kumar as chief principal secretary to chief minister Amarinder Singh.
The single-judge bench had held that Kumar was holding the public office without authority. Kumar, a 1983-batch retired IAS officer, was appointed immediately after the Congress government took over the state’s reins in March last year.
The government has argued that Kumar was not performing any sovereign function of a state.
The government has argued that Kumar could not have taken decisions pertaining to departments held by the chief minister as these are taken by the administrative secretaries.
“Accountability is very important in public appointments which was ‘missing’ in this case and any lapse by him cannot be questioned by any disciplinary authority,” the bench had ruled.
The government has reiterated that Kumar could not have taken any decision all by himself. It was informed by the court and the same argument should have been accepted by the court since no such decision was taken, the government said. The state has claimed that Kumar was merely principal staff officer to CM to provide administrative efficiency and his appointment was not against a cadre post.
The appointment was challenged by a Mohali resident Ramandeep Singh in August 2016, alleging that a public office has been usurped by a retired IAS officer.
-PTC News
