Nagaland: HC suspends state govt’s directive on hiring in 76 dept

Kohima: Following a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the Rising People’s Party (RPP), the Kohima Bench of Gauhati High Court (HC) suspended the Office Memorandum (OM) issued by the state government, which empowered 76 departments to conduct recruitment exams.

The RPP informed that Justice Songkhupchung Serto and Justice S Hukato Swu served a four-week notice to the state government to file their reply after hearing the case. The Party, through its Secretary (admin) Lhikhro Kreo and others, had filed the PIL for immediate functioning of the Nagaland Staff Selection Board (NSSB) and also for the revocation of the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) order to conduct Departmental exams.

Neiteo Koza, counsel for the petitioners, had submitted to the court that the NSSB was already constituted, regulated, enacted and became effective from the day it was notified in the Nagaland Gazette July 31 last year.

The Party said that keeping the NSSB non-functional for such a long period seems “intentional and questionable.”

Further, the RPP said, “All recruitments to posts that fall under Group-C must be conducted through the NSSB for fairness and transparency and for which reason the NSSB has been constituted as a long-standing demand of the people”.