The Delhi High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the appointment of Subhransu Sekhar Acharya as Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the National Small Industries Development Corporation Ltd (NSIDC). Rejecting the contentions, the court said the PIL was not maintainable and only non-appointees can assail the legality of the appointment or extension procedure.
A bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan said a PIL was not maintainable in service matters and it was not inclined to entertain the plea.
“In view of the above, this Court finds no merit in the present writ petition. Accordingly, the same is dismissed. It is clarified that this Court has not expressed any opinion on the merits of the issue raised in the present petition,” the bench, also comprising Justice Manmeet PS Arora, said in an order passed on June 1.
The petitioner, Saddam Ali, assailed Acharya’s appointment claiming that it was done in violation of the advertisement issued by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises on July 11, 2023 as he did not have the “minimum length” of service of two years left.
He said the reasons for relaxation of the criteria set out in clause 5 of Annexure-1 of the advertisement was not disclosed by the authorities and the decision to appoint Acharya without looking at the relevant material is vitiated on the ground of official arbitrariness.
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