In a significant development, the Gauhati High Court on Friday directed the Assam government to reinstate 52 of the 57 civil, police, and allied service officers of the 2013 and 2014 batches who were 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 batch of writ appeals filed by the dismissed officials challenging a previous single-judge verdict that had upheld their termination from service.
The court noted that the 52 officials had completed their probation period before dismissal and must be reinstated within 50 days. However, the state has been given the liberty to withhold work assignments for a period of 30 days post-reinstatement and to conduct departmental proceedings if deemed necessary.
Importantly, the court held that the officers would not be entitled to back wages or salary for the period during which they remained out of service.
The APSC recruitment scam came to light in 2016, triggering a large-scale investigation into irregularities in the Combined Competitive Examinations (CCE). The probe led to the arrest of 70 individuals, including then APSC chairman Rakesh Kumar Paul, along with 57 civil service officials accused of securing jobs through bribery.
