HC restrains Punjab from appointing new women panel chief

The Punjab and Haryana high court has restrained the Punjab government from finalising the appointment of the chairperson of Punjab State Women Commission. The court said that the state government could continue the process for the finalisation of a name. This came after former chairperson Manisha Gulati challenged her removal.

The Punjab and Haryana high court on Monday restrained the Punjab government from finalising the appointment of the chairperson of Punjab State Women Commission. However, the court said that the state government could continue the process for the finalisation of a name.

The high court bench of chief justice RS Jha and justice Arun Palli passed the order on the plea from former chairperson Manisha Gulati challenging a single bench order of March 28 in which her plea against removal was dismissed.

The high court bench of chief justice RS Jha and justice Arun Palli passed the order on the plea from former chairperson Manisha Gulati challenging a single bench order of March 28 in which her plea against removal was dismissed.

“The high court has issued notice and has further stayed the finalisation of the appointment of any new chairperson in pursuance to the advertisement dated 7/4/2023,” said advocates Mayank Aggarwal and Chetan Mittal, who appeared for Gulati. A detailed order is awaited.

Gulati had argued that the single judge bench had wrongly come to the conclusion that the doctrine of pleasure was part of Section 4 of the Punjab State Women Commission Act and, therefore, the government can remove her.

The state’s counsel had opposed the stay and argued that they have the power to remove the chairperson and member as they have been simply nominated.

On March 28, the single judge bench dismissed her plea observing that she can’t complain about her removal now as her appointment was due to her political affiliations with the previous Congress government.

Gulati was removed from her post on March 7 for the second time. Earlier, she was removed on January 31, 2023, but the order was subsequently withdrawn. Appointed as the commission chairperson in March 2018 during the then Congress-led government headed by Capt Amarinder Singh, she had gotten an extension of her tenure from March 2021 to March 2024, which was notified in 2020.