SC stays disqualification of six chief parliamentary secretaries in Himachal Pradesh
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has stayed the disqualification of six Chief Parliamentary Secretaries (CPS) in Himachal Pradesh, appointed by the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government. The apex court put a hold on the Himachal Pradesh High Court's decision, which had declared these appointments unconstitutional.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar clarified that no further CPS appointments would be made by the state government, stating such actions would contravene the law. The court has also issued a notice to BJP leader Kalpana Devi, who initially challenged the appointments in the high court, seeking her response within two weeks.
The matter has been tagged with similar pending petitions and is scheduled for hearing after four weeks.
Earlier, the Himachal Pradesh High Court, on 13 November, had invalidated the appointments of CPSes Sanjay Awasthi, Kishori Lal, Ram Kumar, Mohan Bragta, Sundar Singh Thakur, and Ashish Butail, deeming them illegal and unconstitutional. The Sukhu government subsequently moved the Supreme Court, arguing that the high court's ruling was flawed and could lead to disqualification of the CPSes under Article 192 of the Constitution.
Prominent advocates, including Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, represented the Congress government. Former Union Minister Anand Sharma also appeared as a counsel for Ashish Butail, marking his return to legal practice after 27 years.
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Cristiano Ronaldo scores his 100th Saudi Pro League goal
Riyadh (AP): Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 100th Saudi Pro League goal as Al-Nassr beat Al-Shabab 4-2 to move five points clear at the top of the table.
The 41-year-old forward converted a Sadio Mané cross at the near post with 15 minutes remaining to record the 971st goal of his career on Thursday. It was also his 26th league goal of the season.
“Ronaldo is always dangerous going forward and we saw that again today,” Al-Nassr coach Jorge Jesus said.
João Félix, signed from Chelsea in July, scored three goals for the league leaders.
The win took Al-Nassr to 82 points from 32 games, five ahead of Al-Hilal, which has three matches, one more than Nassr, left to play. Al-Hilal meets Al-Kholood on Friday and faces Nassr on Tuesday in what could be a title decider against its Riyadh rival.
“Now we have a derby match against our rival, which is a difficult encounter,” Jesus said.
“We are fully aware of its importance, and we are dealing with it with complete focus as we know that small details could decide the result.”
Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, has yet to secure a major trophy in Saudi Arabia since signing with Al-Nassr in December 2022.
