Ex-HPSC chief appointed as power regulator at hurriedly convened ceremony

Legal experts say the move is violative of the spirit of Constitution; the Khattar government has trampled the Constitution, particularly Article 319, which prohibits such appointments, adds Surjewala

Throwing constitutional norms to wind, the Haryana government appointed former Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) chairman RK Pachnanda as the chairman of Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) on Friday.

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Legal experts say that Pachnanda’s appointment is in clear contravention of Article 319 of the Constitution which prohibits member of a public service commission from holding offices on ceasing to be such members.

Pachnanda, a retired IPS officer, was administered oath of office by state power minister Ranjit Singh Chautala at a hurriedly organised ceremony at Haryana Niwas on Friday evening. Only a few officers of the power department were present but none of the two HERC members were present.

Article 319 says that a chairman of the state public service commission shall be eligible for appointment as the chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission or as the chairman of any other state public service commission, but not for any other employment either under the government of India or under the government of a state.

Former Haryana advocate general Ashok Aggarwal said the appointment has violated the spirit of the Constitution. “Prima facie, even though the HERC is a statutory body, one cannot say that it’s not a government employment. Whether such a move will hit the letter of law can be a matter of debate. But by all means, the move violates the spirit of the Constitution,” he said.

Aggarwal said that the idea of putting a constitutional bar was to ensure independence and impartiality of members of the Public Service Commission by insulating them from allurement of a future employment under the government.

Former advocate general Mohan Jain said that there was clear constitutional prohibition on chairman or member of a public service commission from holding offices once their term in the public service commission is over.

“Appointments in HERC are done by the Haryana government. There is a certain amount of control that government exercises over the electricity regulatory commission,’’ Jain said.

To justify its actions, the state government, however, has taken a legal opinion in the matter from advocate general BR Mahajan, who gave a green signal for Pachnanda’s appointment on grounds that HERC is a quasi-judicial body and does not fall under the constitutional bar.

Reacting to the development, Congress general secretary and former minister Randeep Singh Surjewala said that by appointing Pachnanda as HERC chairman, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar has committed gross unconstitutionality.

“It is also an act of political malafide. In order to burden 2.5 crore Haryanvis with enhanced electricity rates, the Khattar government has committed this patent illegality and has trampled the Constitution, particularly Article 319, which prohibits such appointments,” Surjewala, a former power minister said.

The Congress general secretary said that the hush-hush manner in which the oath was administered to Pachnanda after the illegally planned move was exposed by Hindustan Times proves guilt of the BJP-JJP regime.

Former leader of Opposition and INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala said that Pachnanda, a former West Bengal cadre IPS officer, is actually an appointee of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

“CM Khattar has acted as a rubber stamp in making this appointment which is a clear violation of the Constitution,” Chautala said.

Terming the appointment as a shameful act, former minister Karan Singh Dalal said that this showed how much the Khattar government respects the constitutional tenets and the founding fathers of the Constitution, including Dr BR Ambedkar. “Pachnanda as a power regulator will now be used to ratify arbitrary power purchase agreements made by the government-owned power companies,” Dalal alleged.