The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a review petition filed by the UP Vidhan Parishad against an order (dated September 18, 2023) of the court directing the CBI to investigate the alleged irregularities in staff recruitment to the Secretariats of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly and Council in 2022-23. The bench was of the opinion that the review application lacked merit and the fundamental ground of “error apparent” for maintainability of the same was not made out.

The application seeking review/recall was primarily filed on the ground that no criminal finding is contained in the order dated September 18, 2023 and therefore, in absence of any criminality leading to a prima facie satisfaction for registration of a PIL, the impugned order would call for a review.

Noting that a preliminary enquiry is already registered by the CBI and the “truth would be unravelled”, a bench of Justice Attau Rahman Masoodi and Justice Om Prakash Shukla observed, “We are fully aware that a detailed reasoning and finding is not contained in our order. However, the fact of the matter remains that we have consciously chosen not to delve into the aspect of criminality as the same would adversely affect the preliminary enquiry, which has a wide ramification on the whole recruitment process starting from engaging the agency to the manner in which the recruitment examination was conducted and as to how the final results were manipulated to accommodate underserving candidates as an act of apparent nepotism, favouritism and fraud. This Court in its wisdom has held its cards of its sleeves and the reason for doing it are not far and wide, keeping in view the serious manipulation prima facie observed in this matter”.

“…We don’t wish to cause any embarrassment to the establishment or dent the image of any high level individuals, unless the facts are verified by the said agency. It is only when, we pass final order in the matter that we shall find our reasons for the course that we have adopted in the matter”, the bench further observed.

Senior Advocate Jaideep Mathur appeared for the Vidhan Parishad.

In the present matter, opposing the petition, the respondents, however submitted that the review application is maintainable against a judgment by virtue of Chapter V Rule 12 of Allahabad High Court Rules, 1952 and in the present case, the proceedings are pending at the interlocutory level.

Therefore the bench was further of the opinion that the allegations of nepotism and collusion on the part of the officers in securing appointments for their favoured persons were serious and if found to be true, then it would not only be violative of Articles 14 and 16 of Constitution of India, but would also expose such senior officers involved in the recruitment exercise to penal consequences.

The Court also noted that after perusing the original records itself it had recorded its prima facie satisfaction on the substance of allegations levelled vide its order dated September 18, 2023, therefore it need not go any further. “…especially when the Court from the entire gamut of facts would find that it was not less than a recruitment scam, wherein hundreds of recruits have been illegally and unlawfully recruited by an external agency of shaken credence. This Court being a vanguard of justice had been urged by the compelling facts to exercise its extraordinary jurisdiction for conducting preliminary enquiry of the entire matter by an independent agency like CBI”, the bench further held in the order.

Accordingly, the bench was of the opinion that the review petition deserved to be rejected for lacking merit.

Cause Title: Legislative Council and others v. Sushil Kumar and others [Neutral Citation No. - 2023:AHC-LKO:63337-DB]

Click here to read/download the Order




Justice Attau Rahman MasoodiJustice Om Prakash Shukla

Agatha Shukla