Stay on firing of assembly staff in Delhi vacated

The high court vacated the interim order saying the top court had already declined in July to stay the termination of Delhi Assembly Research Centre fellows

The Delhi high court on Tuesday vacated its interim order for continuation of services of specialists engaged as fellows with the Delhi Assembly Research Centre who were sacked by lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena in July, as it said that the apex court had earlier declined to stay the termination.

The decision comes days after the services department moved the high court seeking vacation of its September 21 order passed on the petitions filed by 17 of the terminated fellows. (HT Archive)

Therefore, justice Subramonium Prasad said, propriety demanded that the high court ought not have passed the interim order.

The decision comes days after the services department moved the high court seeking vacation of its September 21 order passed on the petitions filed by 17 of the terminated fellows.

“This court is inclined to vacate the stay granted by it in its Order dated 21.09.2023. However, it is always open for the Petitioner to approach the Apex Court to get appropriate clarifications,” the high court said.

The services department on September 27 argued that the order cannot be sustained in view of the absence of sanction for the posts by the LG and the pendency of the issue regarding control of services in the Union territory before the top court.

Justice Prasad noted that the July 5 letter terminating the services of the 116 fellows was “specifically challenged” by the Delhi government before the Supreme Court as part of its petition against the Centre’s ordinance which took away the control over services from the city dispensation, and the petitioner’s contention that the HC can look into the issue since no order has been passed by the top court cannot be sustained.

The top court had on July 20 dismissed the Delhi government’s stay application filed by the Delhi government.

“In the Order dated 20.07.2023 the Apex Court chose not to stay the letter dated 05.07.2023. The contention of the learned Counsel for the Petitioner that since the Apex Court has not passed any order in the I.A. No.13505/2023 (against the July letter), it is open for this Court to consider the same, cannot be sustained,” the court observed.

Officials in the Delhi government did not respond to HT’s queries for a comment on the development.

Officials in the LG secretariat alleged that some of the fellows filed a writ petition before the high court without informing it about dismissal of stay application by former minister (services) by the top court.

The services of the 116 Assembly fellows were discontinued after the LG on July 5 sacked over 400 “specialists” engaged across 23 departments by the Delhi government citing the “non-transparent manner” in which they were appointed. The AAP dispensation hit back at the LG and said the fellowships were created after obtaining the requisite administrative approvals from the state cabinet as well as the departments of law and finance, and by the lieutenant governors at the time.

On September 21, the high court directed that the services of the petitioners should continue till December 6 and stipends be paid to them, after which the Delhi assembly reinstated all the 116 fellows. The petitioners in that case contended that the services of the fellows were terminated prematurely in an illegal manner.

An official in the LG’s office said, “Some of these fellows filed writ petition before single bench of high court. These fellows did not inform the high court about dismissal of stay application by former minister (services) by the Supreme Court (dated July 20), and succeeded to obtain a stay order on September 21. The services department informed the High Court about the said fact of dismissal of stay application against removal of such fellows by the Supreme Court and requested to vacate such stay.”

The Bharatiya Janata Party welcomed the high court direction. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said,“Delhi HC has upheld high judicial standards by lifting the ban on fellows being illegally appointed by the Delhi government and assembly without following constitutional procedures...The observation of the court is shocking that the government had obtained the stay without informing the bench that the matter had already been considered by the Supreme Court which had not found it necessary to allow a stay.

With inputs from PTI