GUWAHATI, June 27: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said the recent Gauhati High Court directive in the cash-for-jobs APSC scam did not instruct the state government to reinstate the dismissed tainted officers.
He claimed that the order had only asked for issuance of ‘non-stigmatic’ discharge letters for these former officers so they can seek future employment.
“We examined the HC order yesterday. There is no directive to reinstate the dismissed officers in their jobs,” Sarma said at a press conference, referring to the court order of June 20 in a case relating to the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) job scam.
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“We have been only told that the discharge order be made non-stigmatic one, with no mention of the APSC or anything, and that they were dismissed for unsatisfactory performance. The court has asked for it so that they can seek employment elsewhere in the future,” he claimed.
Sarma said the new discharge letters would be given to the civil, tax and other service holders.
As the tainted Assam Police Service (APS) officers had not completed their probation period at the time of dismissal, the court has asked the government to take them back and complete departmental proceedings within three months, leaving it on the government to decide whether to retain them or dismiss them after that, the CM said.
“We are examining whether we have to move the Supreme Court with regards to the APS part,” he added.
He maintained that the HC order has actually “closed all doors” for the tainted officers and said, “I have heard that the dismissed officers may now go to the apex court as this order doesn’t help them in any way.”
The APSC’s cash-for-jobs scam came to light in 2016 and over 70 people, including its former chairman Rakesh Kumar Paul and 57 civil service officials, were arrested during the course of investigation by police. (PTI)
