MOHAN SINGH BORA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present writ petition has been filed in the nature of a public interest litigation seeking a writ of quo-warranto against Shri Subhash Kumar, Respondent No. 5 contending that he has illegally usurped the office of Chief Secretary, Government of Uttarakhand. The Petitioner has also prayed for the quashing of the order dated 31st May, 2010 whereby the Respondent No. 5 has been promoted to the Chief Secretary's Grade as well as the order dated 12th September, 2010 by which the Respondent No. 5 has been appointed as the Chief Secretary of Government of Uttarakhand.

(2.) The facts leading to the filing of the petition is, that the Petitioner contends that he is a resident of Haldwani and is an agriculturist and has also extensive business interest. The Petitioner contends that he is a regular income tax Assessee and also a social activist and a staunch believer in the rule of law and has espoused all such causes for good governance for the benefit of the public at large. The Petitioner contends that he currently holds the office of President of the Uttarakhand Cricket Board and is also the Manager of Mahatma Gandhi Inter College, Haldwani. The Petitioner contends that being a citizen of Uttarakhand, he is deeply interested in ensuring that the Government of Uttarakhand maintains the highest standards of probity and good governance.

(3.) The Petitioner contends that the office of the Chief Secretary in any State Government of the Country is a coveted public office and that the person who holds the post of the Chief Secretary is the head of the bureaucracy and, in that capacity, forms the bulwark of the independence of the permanent Government of any State. The Petitioner contends that the appointment of Respondent No. 5 as the Chief Secretary is without any authority of law and that the promotion granted to Respondent No. 5 in the Chief Secretary's grade of pay was void abinitio and was granted without the mandatory prior concurrence as required under Rule 3 (2) (ii) of the Indian Administrative Service (Pay) Rules, 2007. The Petitioner contends that the Respondent No. 5 has usurped the public office of Chief Secretary without any authority of law and, therefore, has filed the present writ petition praying for a writ of quo-warranto.