The Punjab and Haryana High Court has disposed of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed highlighting the issue of vacant posts of Food Safety Officers in the State of Haryana.
The petitioner alleged that 43 out of 45 sanctioned posts were lying vacant, and no recruitment or appointment process had been initiated to fill these vacancies.
In addition to addressing the vacant posts, the petitioner also sought a writ in the nature of mandamus, directing the State of Haryana to amend certain provisions of the BNS 2023, specifically Sections 274 and 275, which correspond to Sections 272 and 273 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
This amendment was sought in compliance with a directive from the Supreme Court of India in the case of Swami Achyut Anand Tirth and others vs UOI and others (2016) 9 SCC 699, dated December 5, 2013.
The petitioner had previously submitted a representation/legal notice to the respondent authorities on October 14, 2024, but had not received a response.
Considering this, the High Court deemed it appropriate to allow the respondent authorities to address the issue, rather than keeping the petition pending.
The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sudhir Singh disposed of the petition with a direction to the respondent authorities to consider and decide on the petitioner’s representation/legal notice within 60 days from the date of receipt of the copy of the order.
The authorities were also instructed to pass a speaking order and communicate the same to the petitioner within the specified timeframe.