If not filed, then CS & Addl CS will have to appear in Court: Gauhati High Court

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: A single-judge bench of the Gauhati High Court has asked the Chief Secretary, the Additional Chief Secretary and the Secretary of Forest, and the PCCF (Principal Chief Conservator of Forest) to submit their respective affidavits on or before January 27, 2021. If they don't, the Chief Secretary and the Additional Chief Secretary will have to appear before the Court on February 3, 2021.

This order is the consequence of the State government and its Environment and Forest department not filing their respective affidavits to the High Court in connection with a writ petition (WP-C/4239/2018).

The petitioners comprising the Assam Forest Rangers' Association and 14 others challenged the advertisement published on March 14, 2018 for the filling up of 25 posts of Assistant Conservator of Forest before the High Court. The Association also prayed to the Court for a direction to the respondent authorities to finalize and publish the service law with regard to the Forest Rangers, Assistance Conservators of Forest and Deputy Conservators of Forest. The writ petition projected that the Service Rules were under preparation.

In an interim order on June 22, 2018, the High Court had directed the respondents not to finalize the selection process pursuant to the March 14, 2018 advertisement. Till date, none of the four respondents from the State government has filed their respective affidavit-in-opposition.

On its part, the fifth respondent in the writ — APSC (Assam Public Service Commission) submits that "they are the only authority to conduct the selection process and that they would abide by the direction of this Court." The APSC further informed the Court that "in view of the interim order by this Court, the selection process was kept in abeyance".

Quite significant in the case is that the standing counsel of the Forest department has submitted that "the Service Rules is yet to be finalized and notified. Therefore, it appears that the State Government is sitting on the matter of finalizing the Service Rules with regard to the Forest Ranger, Assistant Conservator of Forest and Deputy Conservator of Forest and the State Government appears to be satisfied with the interim order by virtue of which the direct recruitment process was stayed".

The High Court said in its order that in the event of the four respondents — including the Chief Secretary — don't file their affidavit-in-opposition on or before the next date fixed, the personal appearance of the Chief Secretary and Additional Chief Secretary concerned before the Court is required.

Justice Kalyan Rai Surana has listed the writ for its next hearing on February 3, 2021.

Also watch: PYF's Project Warm Them Up: Helping the Needy

Also Read: Video conferencing with SC: Litigants from NE get a boost; lawyers want its continuation