HC issues notices to 135 adhoc appointees in U’khand assembly secretariat

The Uttarakhand high has issued notices to 135 adhoc appointees in the state assembly secretariat over alleged favouritism and violation of norms during their appointments

Published on: Jun 27, 2018, 22:00:43 IST

Hindustan Times, Nainital | By Neeraj Santoshi

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The Uttarakhand high has issued notices to 135 adhoc appointees in the state assembly secretariat over alleged favouritism and violation of norms during their appointments.

The appointments were made in 2016 during tenure of then legislative assembly speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal. (HT Photo)

They were appointed in 2016 during tenure of then legislative assembly speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal.

The high court also has issued notice to the secretary assembly secretariat and asked all the parties to reply within three weeks, said Vinay Kumar, counsel for petitioner Haldwani-based Charu Bhat.

Kumar said the petition was filed by Bhat on Monday and it came for hearing in the single bench of justice Lok Pal Singh on Tuesday.

He said the petitioner has alleged that 154 adhoc appointments were made in the assembly secretariat just on the basis of applications without the issuing of advertisement for the same.

Kumar said the petition had alleged that favouritism in the appointments and gross violation of the norms, especially article 14 and 16 of the Constitution.

The lawyer said though 154 appointees had been mentioned in the petition, notices were issued only to 135 as rest of the appointees are on gazetted positions.

In 2016, another PIL had been filed in the high court by Rajesh Chandola, a resident of Bageshwar district, alleging irregularities in appointments in the assembly secretariat in the same year.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More

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