Thaindian News

New Delhi, Jan 30 (IANS) The Supreme Court Monday issued notice to the central and Uttar Pradesh governments on a plea seeking the transfer of a petition pending before the Allahabad High Court on the quashing of appointment of Shashank Shekhar as the state’s cabinet secretary.

Notice was also issued to Shekhar.

The apex court bench of Justice H.L. Dattu and Justice C.K. Prasad issued the notice after senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi pointed out that the matter was pending in the high court since 2009.

A petition seeking transfer of that case to this court was pending before the apex court, he said.

He said the transfer petition by NGO Lok Prahari was pending before it when the court inquired how a plea on the same issue be before both the high court and the apex court.

Singhvi told the court that Shekhar took two and half years to respond to a notice issued to him by the high court.

The apex court asked why the entire matter may not be sent to the high court. But the court was told that since the same matter was pending before it by way of the petition by H.C. Pandey, the matter pending before the high court should be transferred to the apex court.

Lok Prahari moved the high court in 2009 for the quashing of Shekhar’s appointment as cabinet secretary.

Shekhar is a non-Indian Administrative Service officer and a pilot. He was made cabinet secretary in 2007 when the Bahujan Samaj Party government was formed in Lucknow. Soon after his appointment Shekhar’s position was put at par with that of the chief secretary.

The apex court in the last hearing said the government could not pick up some one and appoint him to the top position in administration and pay him from the public exchequer.

“You can’t pick up someone and appoint him and make him anything,” the court said.