Khattar govt bent on appointing former HPSC chief as power regulator

Chandigarh The Haryana government is contemplating to appoint a former chairman of Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) RK Pachnanda as the chairman of Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC)

Chandigarh The Haryana government is contemplating to appoint a former chairman of Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) RK Pachnanda as the chairman of Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC).

HT Image

The move, legal experts say, is in contravention of Article 319 of the Constitution which prohibited member of a public service commission from holding offices on ceasing to be such members.

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

The state government, however, has taken a legal opinion on the matter from advocate general BR Mahajan, who is learnt to have given a green signal for Pachnanda’s appointment on the grounds that HERC is a quasi- judicial body and does not fall under the constitutional restriction. Mahajan, however, was unavailable for a comment.

When asked on the legality of the move, power minister Ranjit Singh Chautala, who will administer the oath of office to the new HERC chairman, refused to comment.

Former Haryana advocate general, Ashok Aggarwal said such an appointment will violate the spirit of the Constitution. “ Prima facie, even though HERC is a statutory body, one can’t 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. This is not an exercise in tune with the spirit of the Constitution. The idea of putting a constitutional bar was to ensure the independence and impartiality of members of the public service commission by insulating them from allurement of a future employment under the government,” Aggarwal said.

Another former advocate general Mohan Jain said there was clear constitutional prohibition on chairman or member of a public service commission from holding offices once their term in the commission is over. “ The appointments in HERC are done by Haryana government. There is a certain amount of control that government exercises over the electricity regulatory commission,’’ Jain said.

Box

What Dr BR Ambedkar had said

Speaking about the employment or eligibility for employment of the members of the Public Service Commissions, Dr BR Ambedkar, regarded as the architect of the Constitution, said in the Constituent Assembly on August 22, 1949, that both the chairman and members of the central and state public services commission have been made ineligible for reappointment to the same posts once their term of office is over.

“I think that is a very salutary provision, because any hope that might be held out for re-appointment, or continuation in the same appointment, may act as a sort of temptation which may induce the member not to act with the same impartiality that he is expected to act in discharging his duties. Therefore, that is a fundamental bar which has been provided in the draft article,” he had said. Dr Ambedkar had further said there is also a provision that neither of these shall be eligible for employment in any other posts. “There is therefore a double disqualification. There is no permission to continue them in their office, nor is there provision for their appointment in any other posts,’’ he said. The only exceptions where they could be appointed are mentioned in Article 319.