GUWAHATI, June 21: In a major development, the Gauhati High Court on Friday directed the Assam government to reinstate 52 of the 57 officials from the 2013 and 2014 batches of civil, police, and allied services who were dismissed for their alleged involvement in the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) ‘cash-for-jobs’ scam.
The ruling was passed by a Division Bench comprising Justice Kalyan Rai Surana and Justice Malashri Nandi, which heard a batch of writ appeals filed by the dismissed officials. These appeals challenged an earlier single-judge verdict that had upheld their termination from service.
The court observed that the 52 officials had completed their probation period prior to their dismissal and must be reinstated within 50 days. However, the bench granted the Assam government the discretion not to assign them any duties for the next 30 days, during which it may also conduct departmental inquiries if deemed necessary.
Importantly, the officers will not be entitled to any salary or dues for the period they remained dismissed from service.
The infamous APSC ‘cash-for-jobs’ scam came to light in 2016, triggering a massive investigation by the Assam Police. The probe led to the arrest of 70 individuals, including the former APSC chairman Rakesh Kumar Paul and 57 civil service officials from various batches.
This verdict comes amid growing public interest in the state’s administrative reforms and justice delivery concerning corruption in public service recruitment.
