Khattar govt’s plan to appoint EX-HPSC chief as power regulator raises brows

LEGAL EXPERTS SAY THE MOVE VIOLATES THE SPIRIT OF THE CONSTITUTION

CHANDIGARH The Haryana government is contemplating to appoint a former chairman of Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) RK Pachnanda as the chairman of Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC).

The move, legal experts say, is in contravention of Article 319 of the Constitution which prohibited member of a public service commission from holding offices on ceasing to be such members.

Article 319 says that a chairman of a state public service commission shall be eligible for appointment as the chairman or any other member of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) or as the chairman of any other state public service commission, but not for any other employment either under the central or a state government.

The state government, however, has taken a legal opinion on the matter from advocate general BR Mahajan, who is learnt to have given a green signal for Pachnanda’s appointment on the grounds that HERC is a quasi- judicial body and does not fall under the constitutional restriction. Mahajan, however, was unavailable for a comment.

When asked on the legality of the move, power minister Ranjit Singh Chautala, who will administer the oath of office to the new HERC chairman, refused to comment.

Legal experts however disagree on the justification.

Former Haryana advocate general, Ashok Aggarwal said such an appointment will violate the spirit of the Constitution.

“Prima facie, even though HERC is a statutory body, one can’t say that it’s not a government employment. Whether such a move will hit the letter of law can be a matter of debate. But by all means, the move violates the spirit of the Constitution. This is not an exercise in tune with the spirit of the Constitution. The idea of putting a constitutional bar was to ensure the independence and impartiality of members of the public service commission by insulating them from allurement of a future employment under the government,” Aggarwal said.

Another former advocate general Mohan Jain said there was clear constitutional prohibition on chairman or member of a public service commission from holding offices once their term in the commission is over.

“The appointments in HERC are done by Haryana government. There is a certain amount of control that government exercises over the electricity regulatory commission,’’ Jain said.