PIL challenges HP move to appoint Gupta as chief secy

Shimla: Taking up a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging state govt's decision to entrust IAS officer Sanjay Gupta with the additional charge of chief secretary despite allegedly three FIRs pending against him pertaining to corruption, the Himachal Pradesh high court has put the state govt, gupta and the central govt on notice.A division bench comprising Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Bipin Chander Negi observed that the grievance raised pertains to the state govt's decision dated Oct 1, 2025, through which Gupta was handed the additional charge of the office of chief secretary. The 1988-batch IAS officer, Gupta is scheduled to superannuate on May 31. The petitioner further contended that the primary objective of filing the PIL was to strengthen the institutional mechanism promoting integrity among govt officers, asserting that impeccable integrity is even more essential than competence for appointments to senior administrative positions. He claimed that three FIRs were already registered against Gupta under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and were pending investigation and trial since 1996, 2008 and 2009.It was further argued that revised guidelines issued on Oct 9, 2024, regarding vigilance clearance for All India Service (AIS) officers and central civil services require the competent authority to examine vigilance status before appointments to sensitive posts are made. The petitioner also relied upon the Supreme Court judgment in EP Royappa vs State of Tamil Nadu (1974), contending that the post of chief secretary is considered a highly sensitive position. Referring to the case of former chief secretary Prabodh Saxena, the court was informed that this was not the first instance in Himachal where an officer facing questions over integrity was posted to the top position. The petitioner therefore stressed the need for a standard operating procedure or a comprehensive checklist to prevent officers of doubtful integrity from being appointed to such sensitive posts in future. The high court has directed the respondents to file their reply before the next hearing on July 21. MSID: 131247084 413 |