Notice issued to Haryana government over cabinet formation

Haryana (The Uttam Hindu): A petition challenging the appointment of 14 ministers in Haryana was heard by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday, 5 November. The court issued a notice to both the Haryana and Central Governments, seeking their response. The next hearing is scheduled for 19 December. The petition, filed by Advocate Jagmohan Bhatti on 18 October, came after 13 ministers were sworn in on 17 October, in addition to Nayab Saini. The petition claims that the maximum permissible number of ministers in the cabinet is 13.5, but Haryana currently has 14 ministers.

According to the 91st Amendment of the Constitution, the number of cabinet ministers in a state should not exceed 15% of the total number of MLAs in the Legislative Assembly. Bhatti's petition names the Central Government, Haryana Legislative Assembly, and several ministers, including Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Anil Vij, Krishnalal Panwar, Rao Narbir, Mahipal Dhanda, Vipul Goyal, Dr. Arvind Sharma, Shyam Singh Rana, Ranbir Gangwa, Krishna Kumar Bedi, Shruti Chaudhary, Aarti Rao, Rajesh Nagar, and Gaurav Gautam as respondents. The petition argues that the increasing number of ministers is a political move to appease MLAs and is being funded by the public.

The petitioner has requested that the additional ministers be removed and that their benefits be halted while the petition is pending. This is not the first time Bhatti has raised concerns; he previously filed a similar petition during the 13th and 14th Assemblies, but the High Court had rejected that petition.