The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Friday stayed an order of the Special Judge (Forest), Shimla summoning the former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal in case of the alleged re-employment of a former IPS Officer A.N. Sharma against the given rules.
The judge summoned Mr. Dhumal in this case for May 30.
Justice Rajiv Sharma granted the stay on a petition filed by Mr. Dhumal challenging the summons. The court also has directed the government to file reply within two weeks.
The former Chief Minister in his petition said that the prosecuting agency or the Home Department has misled the trial court by not placing both the orders of the Governor of Himachal and it has been passed without taking cognizance of the orders dated March 21, 2015 of the Governor. On January 21, 2015, the then Governor of Himachal Mrs. Urmila Singh had expressed opinion that sanction under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act was not required, while on March 21 the new Governor Kalyan Singh reviewed the January 21 order and denied prosecution sanction against Mr. Dhumal.