The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday adjourned till February 21 hearing on a PIL petition that questioned the legality of extending Cabinet Minister rank with associated facilities to 34 MLAs and MLCs on their appointment as heads of various boards and corporations by the State government.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice N.V. Anjaria and Justice M.I. Arun adjourned the hearing after briefly hearing the arguments on the petition filed by Suri Payala, resident of Bengaluru and working as an Engineer-in-Chief level officer with the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board.
Senior advocate J. Sai Deepak, appearing for the petitioner, pointed out that there was no problem in mere appointment of 34 legislators as heads of various boards and corporation but the issue is whether the rank of Cabinet Minister can be extended to them.
Violations alleged
The extension of Cabinet minister rank to the 34 legislators is a clear violation of Article 164 (1A) of the Constitution of India, which restricts number of Ministers in the Council of Ministers in a State to 15% of the total number of members of the Legislative Assembly of that State, Mr. Deepak said, while pointing out that permissible number of Ministers (both the Cabinet and Minister of State ranks) in Karnataka is 34 and there are already 33 Ministers in the State.
Extending the Cabinet Minister rank to additional 34 legislators on their appointment as heads of various boards and corporation amounts to violation of the mandate of Article 164(A), he argued while pointing out that the question is whether these legislators can be given Cabinet rank on their appointment as heads of boards and corporations.
Published - February 13, 2025 08:33 pm IST
