The Allahabad high court has ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into alleged irregularities in staff appointments to the secretariats of the Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly and council for the year 2022-23.
A bench of Justice AR Masoodi and Justice Om Prakash Shukla passed the order while hearing a batch of petitions, including a special appeal and a writ, which were filed by private individuals. These petitions alleged multiple irregularities in the recruitment process.
In addition to ordering a CBI inquiry into these allegations, the bench directed the federal agency to provide its preliminary report within a span of six weeks.
Recognizing the gravity of the accusations, the high court also directed its registry to initiate a suo motu (on its own) public interest litigation (PIL) regarding the matter. As a result, the documents submitted by the petitioners have been sealed pending the investigation, according to advocate Anu Pratap Singh, who represented one of the petitioners.
Singh stated, “Allegations of irregularities have been made in connection with large-scale appointments in Vidhan Sabha and Vidhan Parishad secretariats. The high court has taken serious note of the issue and also ordered to register a suo motu PIL.”
The allegations primarily revolve around claims that the staff selection process for the secretariats of Vidhan Sabha and Vidhan Parishad was conducted by external agencies rather than the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission, violating established norms. One of the petitions also alleged that individuals with close ties to these external agencies received preferential treatment during the selection process.
For instance, there were 87 appointments made to the assembly secretariat in the previous year after an advertisement was issued on December 7, 2020. However, among these appointments, 56 candidates were selected for the position of assistant review officer (ARO), even though only 53 vacancies were advertised.
Similarly, 75 appointments were made in the Vidhan Parishad secretariat following an advertisement issued on September 17, 2020. The written and typing tests for staff selection were conducted by two agencies based in Lucknow.
To assist the court in this case, the high court has appointed advocate LP Mishra as amicus curiae. The division bench has scheduled further hearings for the first week of November.
Prior to this, a writ was filed before a single bench of the court, alleging significant anomalies in appointments within the state legislature. However, this writ was rejected on April 12 of this year. Subsequently, a special appeal was filed before the two-judge bench challenging the April order.
