UP questioned on Cab Secys appointment

The Supreme Court on Monday questioned the appointment of Shashank Shekhar Singh,who is not an IAS officer,as Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Secretary,observing that there must be rules and regulations for such postings.

Resuming the hearing of the PIL filed by Uttar Pradesh resident Harish Chandra Pandey challenging Singhs appointment on the grounds that he was not an IAS officer and did not belong to any state cadre,a Bench of Justices B S Chauhan and T S Thakur observed that when experts like Sam Pitroda are appointed as advisor,it is understandable,but there have to be proper procedures for posts like that of cabinet secretary.

In July,the SC had sought details from the Uttar Pradesh government regarding Singhs appointment. The petitioner has alleged that Singh,who was appointed soon after Mayawati took over as Chief Minister on May 13,2007,is a former pilot and has no civil service experience for the post.

The Bench said today: If someone is an expert in a field like computers and has done exceptionally well in his field,like Sam Pitroda,he can be appointed as advisor. But for these posts,there have to be rules and regulations8230; How can you pick someone and appoint him to the post? There have to be rules and regulations.