HC notice to govt. on appointment of advisers to CM

The High Court of Karnataka on Monday ordered issue of notice to the State government on a PIL petition questioning the legality of appointing eight individuals as advisers/political secretaries to the Chief Minister.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum passed the order on the petition filed by Samaj Parivarthana Samudaya, a Dharwad-based NGO.

The petitioner questioned the appointments of Mahadev Prakash, Mohan A. Limbekai, Sunil G.S., Shankargouda I. Patila, M.P. Renukacharya, Beluru Sudarshan, M.B. Maramkal, and Lakshminarayana as either advisers to the CM or political secretaries. A couple of them resigned from the posts recently.

It was alleged in the petition that the ruling party, which could not accommodate its followers who helped form the government as Ministers in view of Constitutional limit on number of Ministers in a State, had devised this ingenious methodology of appointing such persons as advisers/political secretaries by providing them with the status of Cabinet Minister or Minister of State rank.

Pointing out there there was no legal provision under which advisers/political secretaries to the CM could be created and offered a status of a Minister, the petitioner contended that appointment orders issued to these persons neither prescribe their duties nor the responsibilities, and the appointments had caused a dent to the exchequer.