Staff Reporter, Guwahati: In a significant ruling, the Gauhati High Court has directed the Assam government to reinstate 52 out of 57 civil, police, and allied service officers from the 2013 and 2014 batches who were previously dismissed over their alleged involvement in the infamous Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) cash-for-jobs scam. A Division Bench comprising Justice Kalyan Rai Surana and Justice Malashri Nandi passed the order while hearing a set of writ appeals filed by the dismissed officials. The court instructed that those who had completed their probation period be reinstated within 50 days of the judgment. The appellants had challenged a previous verdict by a single judge that upheld their dismissal. The High Court, however, allowed the state government to withhold duties for the reinstated officers for the next 30 days, during which time departmental inquiries may be conducted if deemed necessary. The court also ruled that the reinstated officials would not be entitled to back pay or any dues for the period they were out of service. The APSC recruitment scam, which came to light in 2016, led to the arrest of 70 individuals, including the commission’s former chairman Rakesh Kumar Paul and 57 appointed officials, over charges of corruption and manipulation in the Combined Competitive Examinations (CCE). The High Court’s latest ruling marks a major development in one of Assam’s most high-profile recruitment scandals, reigniting debates over accountability, due process, and the future of those reinstated into the state bureaucracy.
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