Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], June 20 : The Himachal Pradesh High Court came down heavily on the state government on Friday for its failure to act on two major administrative concerns the delay in appointments to the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) and the controversial six-month extension granted to Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena, despite a pending CBI charge sheet against him.
"The government is playing hide and seek, Himachal High Court remarked as the court pulls up the state for defiance, seeking notification by June 25.
In a strong rebuke during the resumed hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), the division bench of Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Ranjan Sharma imposed a penalty (Cost Amount in orders later) on the state government, directing that the amount be deposited with the Himachal Pradesh High Court Bar Association by June 25.
"The government is playing hide and seek first, citing the relocation of RERA headquarters to Dharamshala, and now delaying appointments under the pretext of procedural issues," the bench remarked, expressing its frustration with what it termed a deliberate attempt to stall justice.
The court also said that despite a query on May 9 regarding whether the appointments had been notified, the government had taken no concrete action. The bench termed the state's conduct as "administrative apathy" and said the explanation submitted by the government was "unsatisfactory."
The court directed the state to issue the notification for the posts of Chairman and Member of RERA by June 25, warning, "If the notification for appointment of the Chairman and Member is not issued by June 25, it shall be deemed a deliberate obstruction of justice," the Court said.
The state government, during Friday's proceedings, submitted that one member of RERA had been appointed, and the appointments of the Chairman and another member were still under process. The bench rejected this argument, saying that such repeated excuses were unacceptable.
The PIL has been filed by Atul Sharma, who has also challenged the March 28, 2025 order of the state government extending Prabodh Saxena's tenure as Chief Secretary by six months, even though he is an accused in a corruption case being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The petitioner informed the court that a CBI chargesheet against Saxena was acknowledged by the Special Judge, Anti-Corruption Court, Rouse Avenue, New Delhi, on October 21, 2019, and the CBI reaffirmed the pendency of the case in a letter dated January 23, 2025.
Sharma argued that the extension granted to Saxena violates the Central Civil Services Rules and guidelines of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), which do not permit vigilance clearance to officers facing charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The PIL noted that Saxena had already been chargesheeted in the infamous INX Media scam, where former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and his son Karti Chidambaram are also named accused. The petition further stated that on September 30, 2022, Saxena was granted an exemption from personal appearance in the case.
Between April 2008 and July 2010, Saxena had served as Director in the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), which included the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) the body responsible for approving Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) proposals during the period in question.
The High Court had earlier, on May 9, sought a detailed affidavit from the state government explaining the "specific reasons" for not notifying the recommendations of the Selection Committee for RERA appointments.
The bench had said, "Keeping in view the larger public interest, if the appointment has not been notified, an affidavit be filed as to why it has not been done and what is the specific reason that the state has withheld the recommendations of the Selection Committee," the court directs.
The court clarified on Friday that interim relief against Saxena's extension will be considered in the next hearing on June 25.
Meanwhile, former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur also lashed out at the state government during a press conference in Shimla, saying: "The Himachal Pradesh government stands totally exposed... be it appointments to RERA, the police recruitment scam, or the nursery teacher training selections. Even in the RERA matter, the selection committee sent its recommendation, but the government did not act. Now, the High Court has imposed a Rs 5 lakh cost this has never happened before. The government is answerable to the people for this level of administrative failure."