Hry to HC: Dushyant’s appointment as dy CM in accordance to law

THERE ARE AT LEAST FIVE DIFFERENT HIGH COURT JUDGMENTS, WHEREIN SUCH APPOINTMENTS HAVE BEEN UPHELD, STATE’S ADVOCATE GENERAL TELLS HIGH COURT

CHANDIGARH : The Haryana government on Tuesday told the Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) that there was no illegality committed by the state in appointing Dushyant Chautala as the deputy chief minister in the BJP-JJP government.

The state’s advocate general, BR Mahajan, told the high court bench of chief justice RS Jha that there were at least five different high court judgments, wherein such appointments have been upheld.

“He is a minister for all practical purposes, whether cabinet or state,” he said.

“The deputy CM’s post is not of much importance and merely a description. The post does not confer any power of the chief minister on him (Dushyant),” the bench was told during the hearing of the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by high court lawyer Jagmohan Singh Bhatti.

During the hearing, the judgments cited by Mahajan were supplied to the petitioner advocate, who has been asked to examine and respond on next date of hearing, that is November 11.

The high court has not issued a formal notice in the matter.

In his plea, the petitioner had argued that there was no provision in the Constitution for deputy chief minister’s post and since it was non-existent, the appointment was liable to be quashed.

“There is a clear violation of the constitutional provision as enshrined under Article 164 of the Constitution, which does not make any mention of deputy chief minister in the state. It is a case of mala fide exercise of power under Article 163 by the governor,” he had said.