Apex Court raps UP for 'colonial-era' practice of giving bureaucrats’ spouses ex-officio posts

The Supreme Court on Tuesday came down on the Uttar Pradesh government for retaining the “colonial-era mindset” in governing cooperative societies and similar bodies where the spouses of bureaucrats like district magistrates are made ex-officio office-bearers.

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A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi asked the state government to take steps in amending relevant provisions within two months.

It said the byelaws of several societies in Uttar Pradesh continued to confer positions, such as the post of president, on the wives of top officials like district magistrates and chief secretaries.

Such provisions, the court said, were “wholly inconsistent with democratic principles”