NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has rejected a plea against the appointment of IAS officer Nidhi Chhibber as the chairperson of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), observing the bureaucrat has the qualifications for the post.
The petitioner, Independent School Federation of India, had approached the high court, arguing that Chibber, who has been appointed in a “bureaucratic reshuffle”, did not fulfill the requisite terms and conditions for the post. Justice Chandra Dhari Singh refused to issue a writ of quo warranto, saying that no prima facie case was made out by the petitioner against the respondent.
“The writ of quo warranto is issued in cases where there is a finding by this court under its writ jurisdiction that the person holding the public office does not possess the requisite qualification to be appointed to the position. The said writ is issued by the courts to prohibit unqualified persons from occupying the said position,” the high court noted in the order.
The court said, “The instant writ petition filed by the petitioner is nothing but a gross misuse of process of law.” The counsel representing the respondent submitted that his client has worked in the education department for a period of 48 months in the cadre of director and above, saying the allegations that the respondent does not possess the minimum experience of three years are incorrect, and submitted the executive record sheet to buttress the argument.
The counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners vehemently opposed the submissions advanced on behalf of the respondent and prayed for some time to file a reply to the short affidavit filed on behalf of the respondent. The court observed that the officer fulfills the criteria of being eligible to the post as per the executive record sheet.