The Jharkhand High Court on Wednesday pulled up Additional Chief Secretary (Home) N N Pandey for not responding to the judicial direction to file counter an affidavit in a Public Interest litigation related to appointment of Chowkidars on the basis of inheritance.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Virender Singh said that there should not be an impression that anyone is above law. The bench was annoyed with Pandey over the filing of counter affidavit late in the evening on Tuesday due to which, it could not come on records of the Court.
“Out of this, I will draw only one conclusion that the Home Secretary is not ready to hear the court….. if a Home Secretary due to his ego, is not ready to hear the court, let him do that…What can we do. We cannot stop him,” said the Chief Justice. The request made by the Court does not mean that it was begging from anybody, he added.
The CJ further added that although he knew the Home Secretary personally, but still he should not have an impression that he was above the law.
“Don’t consider our request that the court is begging from someone in a begging bowl; technically that is a direction which is generally put as the word as request. The Court should not get an impression that he is above law,” said the Chief Justice.
The Chief Justice, however, said that he was the last person to call any bureaucrat in the court as he was not suffering from any ego. The court, however, said that it gets annoyed if an impression is given that anyone is above law.
The Home Secretary was supposed to file in the court providing data and facts about the number of appointments of chowkidars made in contrary to the order passed by Supreme Court and High Court in this regard.
The PIl relates to the appointment of Chowkidars done earlier on the basis of inheritance but both the Supreme Court and the High Court ruled in the year 2010 and 2011 respectively that such appointments could not be done on the basis of inheritance as it will be the violation of article 16 of the Indian Constitution. The Government of Jharkhand however, made some appointments in the year 2013.
An lPA was filed in the Jharkhand High Court by aggrieved persons, during which the Home Secretary was asked to file a counter affidavit in the court in this regard.
“Despite the Home Secretary having given three dates to file the counter affidavit, he submitted it in the eleventh hour on Tuesday due to which it could not come on records of the court,” said advocate Manoj Tandon. Ideally, it should be filed 48 hours in advance of the hearing in the court so that it is put on records of the court, he said.
“During the last hearing, the government counsel told the court that the Home Secretary was not responding to his letters,” Tandon added. The Home Secretary will again have to appear in the Court personally next week, he said.