SC questions U'khand CM's authority in controversial appointment of IFS officer

In a strongly worded judgement on Wednesday, the Supreme Court rebuked Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami for appointing an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer, Rahul, as the director of the Rajaji Tiger Reserve.

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The court questioned the Chief Minister's decision to override the opinions of multiple officials, including the state's forest minister, calling it a throwback to a "feudal era." The Supreme Court bench, headed by Justice B R Gavai and including Justices P K Mishra and KV Viswanathan, highlighted the importance of the "public trust doctrine" in governance. "The heads of the executive cannot be expected to be old days' kings that whatever they have said, they will do," the bench observed. "We are not in a feudal era."

The controversy originated from the appointment of Rahul, a former director of the Corbett Tiger Reserve, as the director of the Rajaji Tiger Reserve. Despite a series of objections from senior officials, including the forest minister, the Chief Minister proceeded with the appointment, raising questions about the integrity of the decisionmaking process.