The Supreme Court on Friday temporarily halted the disqualification process of 6 Chief Parliamentary Secretaries in Himachal Pradesh, appointed by the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led state government.
The Court stayed the Himachal Pradesh High Court’s earlier decision declaring the appointments unconstitutional.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar directed that no further proceedings related to the High Court’s order would continue. This decision follows the quashing of the appointments of 6 MLAs as CPS by the High Court.
However, the Supreme Court clarified that no additional appointments to the position of CPS or Parliamentary Secretaries would be permitted, as such actions would contravene the law.
The bench also issued a notice to BJP leader Kalpana Devi, who had challenged the appointments in the High Court, asking for her response within two weeks. The case has been scheduled for hearing in four weeks and will be tagged with similar petitions already pending before the apex court.
This case revolves around the legality of appointing Chief Parliamentary Secretaries, a practice that has faced judicial scrutiny in several states.
The final decision by the Supreme Court is expected to set a significant precedent for similar appointments across the country.
