Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has clarified that the recent Gauhati High Court directive regarding the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) cash-for-job scam did not instruct the state government to reinstate the dismissed officers involved in the scam.
The chief minister said 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 (Thursday). There is no directive to reinstate the dismissed officers in their jobs,” CM Sarma said at a press conference on Friday, referring to the High Court order of June 20 in a case relating to the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) job scam.
The chief minister said, “We have been only told that the discharge order be made non-stigmatic one, with no mention of the SC 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.”
According to the chief minister, the revised discharge letters will be issued to former civil, tax, and other service officers to enable them to seek employment elsewhere.
As the tainted Assam Police Service 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.
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He maintained that the HC order has actually “closed all doors” for the tainted officers.
The APSC cash-for-job scam, which surfaced in 2016, led to the arrest of over 70 individuals, including former APSC chairman Rakesh Kumar Paul and 57 officials across various civil services.
