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HC stays Sharma's appointment as acting chief of Coal India

Our Bureau

KOLKATA, Feb. 21

IN an order that may have far-reaching effect on the prevailing procedure for selection and appointment of top-level executives in PSUs, the Jharkhand High Court has stayed the Union Coal Ministry's decision to appoint Mr N.K. Sharma as acting Chairman o f Coal India Ltd (CIL). It also directed that Mr C.D. Arah, Additional Secretary in the Coal Ministry, should continue to be CIL's acting Chairman till February 26, when the ad hoc appointment of Mr Sharma will again be heard by the same court.

The order was issued by the court in a case filed against the Union Government by Mr B. Akala, CMD of Central Mine Planning and Design Institute, a CIL subsidiary, alleging that he, in spite of being selected as the next Chairman of CIL by the Public Ent erprises Selection Board (PESB), did not get the chance to occupy the post as a result of subjective decisions by the Ministry of Coal.

The post fell vacant with effect from October 1 last following the retirement of Mr P.K. Sengupta.

However, on receipt of a copy of the order passed on Tuesday at Ranchi by a single judge Bench of the Jharkhand High Court, Mr Sharma, who is also Director (Technical) of CIL, is learnt to have stopped acting as Chairman. Mr Arah, who is supposed to cont inue acting Chairman of CIL as per the court order, could not be contacted.

While reviewing the submissions made by Additional Solicitor-General of India at the Division Bench of the same court on February 7 last and subsequent steps taken by the Ministry, the single judge Bench of the Jharkhand High Court discounted the action of the Centre in making ad hoc arrangement ignoring the court's orders.''

It further observed that the way the Union Government was acting was nothing but abuse of powers for extraneous reasons, which would expose the authorities concerned. It was desirable that the Additional Solicitor-General, who made the statement before t he Division Bench of this court, should assist the court and justify the action of the Government.

In the meantime, the judge ordered: ``The operation of the impugned order (which relates to appointment of Mr Sharma as acting Chairman of CIL) shall remain stayed and Mr Arah, who was acting as Chairman, shall continue to act as such.''