Bilaspur. The issue of appointing 14 ministers in the Chhattisgarh government has reached the High Court. The PIL filed in the matter was heard today in the division bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice BD Guru. The lawyers on behalf of the government said that the matter is pending in the Supreme Court. Expressing objection to this, the High Court has scheduled the next hearing after three weeks when the petitioner sought time for directions from the Supreme Court.
Social activist Basdev Chakraborty has filed a PIL in the High Court through advocate Abhiyudaya Singh, in which the appointment of 14 ministers in the cabinet has been termed unconstitutional. The petitioner has made the General Administration Department, the Chief Minister and all 14 ministers parties in the PIL.
The last hearing of the case was held on Friday. During that time it was told that according to the rules, there can be only 13 ministers in proportion to the members of the cabinet. In Chhattisgarh, the limit of 15% has been crossed by appointing 14 ministers as compared to 90 assembly seats. This is a violation of Article 164 (1) of the Constitution. During the last hearing, an affidavit was sought on the work done by the petitioner in the social sector.
During the hearing today, Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice BD Guru asked the petitioner’s lawyer that we had asked for an affidavit from you, where is it. Presenting the affidavit, the lawyer said that we have done service work during Covid. We have also attached the photo and paper cutting of the news published in the newspaper. Along with this, the court was told that the cabinet limit has crossed 15%. This is a violation of Article 164 (1A) of the Constitution.
In this case, the lawyers on behalf of the government said that the matter related to fixing the limit of the cabinet is pending in the Supreme Court, in which 164 (1A) has to be interpreted. This case was of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Cabinet. In which a petition is also pending for the minimum and maximum limit of the cabinet. The lawyers of Chhattisgarh government also presented a copy of the case filed in the Supreme Court before the court.
The petitioner’s lawyer objected to this and said that the case has become infectious. Then the state government’s lawyers told that it has not become infectious. The Chief Justice asked when was the last hearing in this case. The state government’s lawyers told that the case was last heard on 22 July 2020. No order has been issued regarding dismissal in it, and this case is standing.
After hearing both the parties, Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha said that since the matter is pending in the Supreme Court, then get it decided from there.
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