The Rajya Sabha has said that a PIL questioning the appointment of some senior officers in its Secretariat is not "maintainable and deserves to be dismissed with costs" in the Delhi High Court.
"The present petition as framed is not maintainable and deserves to be dismissed with costs. The dispute raised in the PIL relates entirely to selections and appointments made by Secretariat which is purely a service matter," Joint Director in Rajya Sabha Secretariat informed the bench headed by Chief Justice G Rohini.
Advocate Zubeda Begum, appearing for RS Secretariat, while filing an affidavit said, "The petition has not been filed bonafidely but for oblique purposes and to further interest of one S N Sahu, an in-service officer of the Secretariat who has already filed four petitions and 25 applications before this Court. PIL is, therefore, devoid of any merit or substance deserves to be dismissed with cost."
The RS Secretariat's response came in pursuance to the notice issued by the court on April 22 seeking response on the plea filed by an NGO challenging the validity of clause 6A of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat (Methods of Recruitment and Qualifications for Appointment) Order, 2009.
The PIL filed by Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) had also sought an order directing an inquiry into all the appointments made in Rajya Sabha Secretariat since 2008.
RS Secretariat further said that the petitioner has not challenged the aforesaid rule and therefore, Clause 6A which flows from the '1957 Rules' is not open to challenge.
"All the persons appointed to the post of Joint Secretary and above since 2008 have distinguished and outstanding records and were eminently suitable to hold the post for which they were appointed," the affidavit states.
In April, the Supreme Court had asked the petitioner to approach the high court first saying, "In case the court below refused to entertain your plea, then come to us.
