Chandigarh: More than a year after the Punjab government appointed Raghav Chadha as the chairman of a specially constituted advisory committee to advise the chief minister, the government is yet to add any other member to the committee or convene a meeting.
Highly placed sources in the department of general administration told ThePrint that the government has not taken any action on the matter since Chadha’s appointment in July last year.
Chadha — who was suspended from the Rajya Sabha in August for alleged violation of rules and breach of privilege, and who tied the knot with actor Parineeti Chopra last month — was a regular visitor to Chandigarh and took a keen interest in the functioning of the Punjab government. However, he has been absent from the state for several months, and sources in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are attributing his absence to him being preoccupied with Delhi affairs, where the party is facing investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Delhi excise scam.
ThePrint reached Shruti Singh, Punjab secretary, general administration, via calls, messages and also a visit to her office last week, but she refused to comment on the advisory committee, its members and meetings, if any.
On 6 July last year, the Punjab government notified the creation of an advisory committee under the signatures of then chief secretary Punjab V.K. Janjua. A few days after the notification, on 11 July, the chief secretary issued Chadha’s appointment letter as a chairman of the committee. The following day, a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging the move. Petitioner-advocate Jagmohan Singh Bhatti contended that Chadha’s appointment was illegal and arbitrary and in exercise of “non est”, or non-existent laws of the state or the central government.
On 16 July, Bhatti also sent a representation to the Punjab government challenging Chadha’s appointment.
When contacted by ThePrint, Bhatti said that last week, he had sought additional information from the government of the cabinet meeting that took place on 28 July that approved the appointment.
“The response of the government to my representation has been most dissatisfactory. Apart from giving out letters, which are already in the public domain, the government has not bothered to explain how Raghav Chadha was appointed and on what basis. Once I receive the reply to the additional information I have sought, I will be approaching the high court again against the appointment,” said Bhatti.
ThePrint reached Raghav Chadha via messages. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
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The legal tussle
In his litigation, Bhatti said that Chadha was not a member of the Punjab legislative assembly, and his appointment, as a result, amounted to a “parallel government within the government”.
Senior advocate Gurminder Singh, who was last week appointed as the state’s advocate general, had represented the Punjab government in the case in the Punjab and Haryana HC.
On 1 August, the division bench of Chief Justice Ravi Shankar Jha disposed of the petition with directions to the government to decide on Bhatti’s petition.
Speaking to ThePrint, Bhatti said the chief secretary of Punjab had replied to his representation on 21 November last year.
“The reply included a copy of the 6 July orders of the constitution of the committee and the 11 July orders of appointment of Raghav Chadha. An order signed by the secretary general administration, Kumar Rahul dated 2 September was also shared by the government. It said that the council of ministers held a meeting on 28 July approving the constitution of the committee and Chadha’s appointment,” he added.
Role of the committee
The notification issued under the signatures of Janjua states that the CM has undertaken a review of the working of government at various levels, and it was of the view that a body (temporary in nature) was required to tender advice to the government of Punjab on matters of public importance pertaining to public administration.
The constitution and terms of reference of the committee stated that it was to be a temporary and ad hoc committee to advise the government, which would consist of a chairman and other members who may be required from time to time and be appointed by the government.
According to the notification, the office of the chairman and members would not be entitled to any compensation, remuneration, or perks of any kind or nomenclature. The chairman and members would also not be entitled to payments that are compensatory in nature, including any reimbursements, it added.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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