SHILLONG: All the 17 Parliamentary Secretaries in Meghalaya resigned prompt after a Division Bench of the Meghalaya High Court had struck down the Meghalaya Parliamentary Secretaries (Appointment, Salaries, Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2005, thereby nullifying the government notification of their appointment.
Chief Minister Mukul Sangma has accepted the resignations submitted by the Parliamentary Secretaries.
The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Ved Prakash Vaish, in its order held the Act invalid for want of legislative competence of the State Legislature and is, therefore, struck it down.
In the order, the High Court stated, “As a necessary corollary, the notifications appointing the Parliamentary Secretaries and other follow-up actions are declared void, for having been issued and carried out under an invalid enactment.”
As for the matter of disqualification of the 17 Parliamentary Secretaries, the High Court stated that it left open for the determination of the Governor, if raised in accordance with law.
The High Court in its order stated that the decision of the Governor in this regard, on the basis of the opinion of Election Commission, would be final.
A PIL was filed by one Madal Sumer from West Jaintia Hills, last year against the state government’s decision to appoint Parliamentary Secretaries. According to the submission made by Sumer in the PIL, the government’s expenditure on Parliamentary Secretaries could have otherwise been used for the development of the state.
It was on March 12, 2013, that the state government had appointed 18 MLAs as parliamentary secretaries to assist 12 ministers.
The number was reduced to 17 after one of the parliamentary secretaries, Lamboklang Mylliem, resigned on March 29 last year.