Overview

• The Gauhati High Court directed the Assam government to reinstate 52 of 57 officials dismissed over the 2013–14 APSC cash-for-jobs scam within 50 days.
• The bench allowed the state to withhold postings for 30 days, denied back wages for the period out of service and permitted departmental or criminal proceedings.
• The cash-for-jobs scandal surfaced in 2016 with the arrest of more than 70 people, including former APSC chairman Rakesh Kumar Paul.
• Himanta Biswa Sarma warned that the order undermines the state’s drive for clean, merit-based recruitment and called the ruling disappointing.
• The Assam government will move the Supreme Court to overturn the reinstatement order and block the accused officials’ return to service.