GO or TSCHE Act; Which is to be followed while sacking top guns

Hyderabad: Does a State government order, popularly used in the bureaucratic parlance as "GO", prevail over a law enacted by the legislature or does the laws prevail over the GO? Can the government be empowered to issue a GO in violation of the provisions of a specific legislature-enacted law in force?

This issue has come to the fore following the GO issued on December 10, 2023 sacking chairpersons of 54 corporations with retrospective effective i.e. December 7. The GO issued by Chief Secretary A Santhi Kumari had also rescinded the appointment or extension orders issued earlier. On top of it, the special chief secretaries and secretaries of the departments concerned were directed to ensure that the GO is implemented in letter and spirit

The GO applied the same yardstick to the Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE) chairman Prof R Limbadri and Prof V Venkataramana, the vice-chairman-I equating it to any other government body corporate. applied to all other government corporations, thus equating TSCHE established under The Telangana State Council of Higher Education Act, 1998 (Act No. 16 of 1988).

The TSCHE Act was enacted in the United Andhra Pradesh. According to sources in the State Higher Education department, "the Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education Act, 1988 received the assent of the Governor on 20 April 1988. The Act in force in the combined State, as on June 2, 2014, has been adapted to the State of Telangana, under section 101 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 (Central Act 6 of 2014) vide. the Adaptation Order issued in GO 5, Higher Education department, dated August 2,.2014."

Section 5(1) of the Act regulating the terms and conditions of the service of chairman and vice-chairman and members clearly says, "the State government by a GO can appoint the chairman, vice-chairman or any other member ordinarily for a period three years or in certain cases for less than three years." the sources told The Hans India. However, when it comes to their removal, the Act specifies it is under Section 5 (3), "The chairman or vice-chairman or a member (other than an ex-officio member), shall not be removed from his office except by an order of the government passed on the ground of wilful omission or refusal to carry out the provisions of the Act or abuse of powers vested with him and after due inquiry as may be ordered by the government, in which such chairman or vice-chairman or member shall have an opportunity of making his representation against such removal."

Thus, without following the due process of specifying the reasons for the removal and allowing representing against such removal, "the TSCHE chairman, vice-chairman and members other than the ex-officio members can’t be asked to go by issuing a GO," said a senior official.

If the removal of the chairman and vice-chairman has something to do with a different party government then why the same is not applicable to the vice-chairman-II, also appointed by the former government? This question is now doing rounds in the higher education circles