Lucknow
Senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, who was recently sworn in as minister in the UP cabinet, will have to take the oath of office once again on Sunday after it was found that he had not taken the pledge of secrecy and office as per Constitutional procedures.
The powerful Muslim leader found himself in the midst of a controversy with the filing of a public interest litigation (PIL) that challenged his oath taking procedure thereby raising questions over his appointment as a cabinet minister.
Advocate Shankar Jain filed a petition in the Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court on Friday that said the oath which Azam took on March 15 was incomplete”. The petitioner said that though Azam took the oath of secrecy, he did not take the oath of office. The court, while observing the footage of the oath taking ceremony held at La Martenier grounds, agreed with the lapse and as hfixed the next date of hearing for March 20.
According to a constitutional expert, the oath of office has to be taken first followed by the office of secrecy. Khan, as it appeared, skipped the first part and moved to the second straight away.
The filing of the PIL has raised questions over the validity of the decisions made by state’s cabinet of which Azam has been a part of. Notable among them is the distribution of laptops and tablets and unemployment allowance to people aged above 35.
Azam, on Saturday, was quick to respond by returning all facilities, including his official bungalow and car allotted to him in the capacity of a cabinet minister. Khan will once again take oath atRaj Bhawan on Sunday at 11am.
The incident has left the Samajwadi Party’s leadership in a fix even as it geared up to allocate different departments to the ministers, including Azam Khan, probably on Sunday. Khan and the other cabinet ministers have been allotted office in the fifth floor of the annexe in their capacity as cabinet minister.
Interestingly, the Indian Constitution empowers the governor to prohibit a minister from assuming office until he has taken the oath properly. It is because of this reason that Azam has been forced to take the oath once again.