HC imposes ₹1K fine on Centre for no response to Khemka’s plea
CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court on Thursday imposed a Rs 1,000 fine on the Centre for not responding to a plea filed by senior Haryana cadre IAS officer Ashok Khemka, who has challenged the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) order wherein his petition seeking direction to Centre to consider his empanelment was dismissed.
The fine was imposed by the high court bench of Justice Rajiv Sharma as the Centre failed to submit its reply to the petition filed by Khemka on July 30.
“Learned counsel for the respondent No.1 – Union of India prays for and is permitted to file a written statement within a period of one week from today subject to payment of Rs 1,000 as costs,” the bench said while deferring the hearing till September 15.
It was on July 23 that CAT, Chandigarh, had passed the order. Khemka was seeking direction to the Centre to consider his empanelment for holding additional secretary or equivalent post at the Centre. CAT had dismissed the plea observing that appointment of a person at the Centre can’t be a matter of right.
Khemka has told the court that he was empanelled as joint secretary in December 2010 and applied for central deputation in 2011, 2012 and 2014, but was not appointed.
Non-empanelment at this stage, he had told the court, would lead to a cascading effect and he will not be able to serve at the Centre permanently.
Subsequently, he had also sought the records pertaining to empanelment or exclusion of officers in another plea filed on August 13.