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The Himachal Pradesh High Court has directed the state government to file an affidavit placing on record the consequential order issued after the Centre approved a six-month extension in service for Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena on March 28.
The direction came from a division bench comprising Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Ranjan Sharma, while hearing a batch of petitions, including a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Atul Sharma, questioning the legality of Saxena's extension and the associated vigilance clearance. During the hearing, senior counsel Shrawan Dogra, appearing for Saxena, referred to Rule 16 of the All India Services (Death-cum-Retirement Benefits) Rules, 1958. He emphasised that such recommendations must come from the state government with full justification and in the public interest. Following this, the Advocate General sought time to place a specific affidavit on record. Earlier, on September 6, the Union Government informed the court that Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had formally recommended a six-month service extension for Saxena, who was originally scheduled to retire on March 31. Based on this recommendation, the Centre approved the extension. Meanwhile, In a related development, the Additional Solicitor General informed the court that the file notings pertaining to the service extension, sought by the court, have been dispatched from New Delhi and are expected to arrive by September 25. Taking into account the upcoming Dussehra holidays, the bench directed that the record be submitted to the Registrar General. A photocopy of the documents will be retained in a sealed cover, while the original will be returned to the concerned official. Prabodh Saxena, a 1990-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, had publicly announced the extension during his farewell dinner hosted by the Himachal Pradesh IAS Officers' Association on March 28. (ANI)
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