Change in social policy after change in government part of democratic process: Bombay High Court

A change in social policy, implementation of policies and programmes following a change in government is part of the democratic process and cannot be termed as arbitrary or malafide, the Bombay High Court has said.

A division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale refused to quash a December 2022 order passed by the current state government under Eknath Shinde, cancelling the appointment of chairman and members of the Maharashtra State Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The bench in its order on Tuesday dismissed the petition filed by Ramhari Dagadu Shinde, Jagannath Motiram Abhyankar and Kishor Medhe, challenging the cancellation order. Abhyankar was the commission’s chairman while the other two were its members.

They were appointed in 2021 for a term of three years.

The petitioners claimed every time there is a change in government, changes are made in the administration to accommodate supporters of the ruling dispensation and this is against the principles of natural justice. The bench in its order noted the petitioners did not have any fundamental right to continue on the posts and hence the government order cancelling their appointment cannot be held “arbitrary or discriminatory”.

“A change in social policy followed by a change in government is part of the democratic process and a change in the implementation of policies and programmes per se cannot be charged as arbitrary or mala fide,” the HC said. The bench noted the commission was neither statutory nor mandated by any provision of the Constitution and hence the appointment of the petitioners did not have any statutory basis.

The petitioners were nominated at the sole discretion of the government without following any selection procedure or inviting applications from the general public.