Assam govt to challenge HC order reinstating ‘scam-tainted’ APSC officials in Supreme Court

The Assam government will move the Supreme Court against the Gauhati High Court’s directive to reinstate 52 officials dismissed for their alleged involvement in the infamous cash-for-jobs scam in the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC), Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday.

Terming the high court’s decision “painful” and “disappointing,” Sarma stated that the ruling undermines the state government’s current drive for clean and merit-based recruitment in the civil services.

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The controversy dates back to the 2013 and 2014 batches of the Combined Competitive Examination (CCE) conducted by the APSC, which was marred by large-scale corruption. The scam came to light in 2016, leading to the arrest of more than 70 people, including former APSC chairman Rakesh Kumar Paul. As investigations unfolded, 57 civil service officials — including those appointed to administrative, police, and allied services — were dismissed after allegations that they had secured their jobs through bribes and manipulation of answer scripts.

On Friday, the Gauhati High Court directed the Assam government to reinstate 52 of these 57 dismissed officers, citing that they had already completed their probation period. The court allowed the government to withhold work assignments for 30 days and initiate departmental inquiries, but instructed that reinstatements must happen within 50 days.

Speaking on the sidelines of an International Yoga Day event in Baksa, CM Sarma expressed concern.

“The judgment by the division bench is painful and disheartening, especially when we are striving to uphold meritocracy in public service recruitment,” he said.

He added that although he had not yet gone through the full judgment, if the press summaries were accurate, the implications were “very unfortunate.”

He reiterated the government’s firm position.

“We will definitely appeal before the Supreme Court. We will fight till the very end to ensure that no one who obtained a government job through fraudulent means is allowed to return to service,” he said.

The high-profile APSC recruitment scam sparked outrage across Assam, shaking public confidence in the civil services and prompting widespread demands for reform. The current government has since introduced stricter oversight mechanisms in recruitment processes and has made merit-based selection a core policy goal.

With the Supreme Court now set to weigh in, the case is likely to set a precedent for how Indian courts balance due process with the need to cleanse public services of corruption.