Guwahati: In a significant development, the Gauhati High Court on Friday directed the Assam government to reinstate 52 of the 57 civil, police, and allied service officials of 2013 and 2014 batch who were involved in the ‘cash-for-jobs’ scam in the Combined Competitive Examinations (CCE) conducted by Assam Public Service Commission (APSC).
A Division Bench, comprising Justice Kalyan Rai Surana and Justice Malashri Nandi, heard a batch of writ appeals filed by the dismissed officials challenging a previous single-judge verdict that had upheld their termination from service.
The court noted that the 52 officials had completed their probation period before dismissal and must be reinstated within 50 days.
The high court also allowed the state government not to assign them any duties for the next 30 days and to conduct any departmental inquiries if required.
The officers will also not be eligible for any salaries or dues during the period they remain dismissed.
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The APSC’s cash-for-jobs scam came to light in 2016 and during investigations by the Assam police, 70 people, including its former chairman Rakesh Kumar Paul and 57 civil service officials, were arrested.
