HC adjourns hearing on plea against Assembly secy appointment

The Madras High Court today adjourned hearing on a petition challenging the appointment of K Srinivasan as the Tamil Nadu Assembly secretary.
Justice T Raja adjourned the hearing to tomorrow after state Advocate General (AG) Vijay Narayan said a counter-affidavit needed to be filed as the prayer in the petition has been altered now.
He said the petitioners initially opposed any move to make Srinivasan as the secretary and have now challenged his appointment and the rules under which it had been made.
"Therefore, a counter-affidavit has to be filed," he added.
Srinivasan was appointed as the assembly secretary by an order issued on March 3.

On March 2, the court ordered notice on the petition filed by Assembly's Additional Secretary L S Vasanthimalar and Joint Secretary B Subramaniyam, who contended Vasanthimalar was the senior most candidate and not Srinivasan.

Senior Counsel P Wilson, appearing for the the Assembly's additional secretary, claimed that when he insisted on a status-quo order during the hearing on March 2 the AG had said nothing (no appointment) will happen.
But on the same day, the state government amended the rules giving retrospective effect and appointed Srinivasan as the secretary on March 3, he submitted.
Countering this, the AG said he never gave any undertaking on the matter.

Opposing the plea for status-quo order, Narayan had then submitted that till then (March 2) appointment order for the post, which fell vacant on February 28, had not been issued.
The post of the assembly secretary was important. Even if the appointment was made either today or tomorrow, this court can still pass any order exercising its powers, he had added.
The petitioners submitted that the state government vide its December 14, 2017, order appointed Srinivasan, who was in the post of a private secretary to the speaker, as special secretary in a newly-created post.
They stated that only officials holding the post of additional secretary in the general administrative wing can be appointed as special secretary or secretary.

Vasanthimalar was lawfully entitled to be appointed to the post after the retirement of incumbent K Boopathy as per the settled service seniority and rules, the petitioners said.
The court had earlier issued notice to the state Governor's secretary on the petition.