Allahabad HC raps UP govt over delay in minorities commission appointments

Lucknow, Jul 7 (PTI) The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Tuesday expressed strong displeasure over the delay in appointing the chairman and members of the Uttar Pradesh Minorities Commission and directed the additional chief secretary, minorities welfare department, to appear in person on July 20 to explain the inaction. The court said that if no additional chief secretary is posted in the department, the principal secretary shall appear instead. The order was passed by a bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Manjive Shukla on a public interest litigation filed by Shams Tabrez seeking expeditious appointment of the commission's chairman and members, posts which fell vacant in 2024. The bench noted that by its order dated April 24, 2026, it had directed the state government to place on record clear written instructions regarding the status of the appointment process. However, during the hearing, the state counsel informed the court only through oral instructions that the process of nominating the chairman and members was still underway. Expressing displeasure, the bench observed that despite its earlier directions, neither written instructions had been furnished nor had the appointments been made. It termed the state's conduct highly disrespectful to the earlier order passed by a coordinate bench. The court also directed the additional chief secretary, or the principal secretary, as the case may be, to explain why written instructions were not provided to the state counsel. The matter has been listed for the next hearing on July 20. PTI COR NAV MPL MPL