Agartala: The Tripura High Court has restrained the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) from paying salaries, till further orders, to part-time workers, casual workers and paid-voucher staff who were regularised despite the absence of sanctioned posts with approved pay scales.
The order came from a bench of Chief Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao and Justice Biswajit Palit while hearing a public interest litigation, Gobinda Manik Jamatia & Others vs TTAADC & Others, alleging backdoor appointments within the autonomous council. The matter has been listed for further hearing.
The order comes against the backdrop of long-standing allegations of irregularities in TTAADC recruitment, with Leader of Opposition and CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury having repeatedly accused the council of making around 200 to 250 appointments over the past five years without advertisements, interviews or due process. Chaudhury has previously demanded that the findings of a retired judge-led inquiry into the alleged irregularities be made public and that appointments found illegal be cancelled.
The High Court’s restraint on salary payments is expected to add further pressure on the TTAADC administration as scrutiny over its recruitment practices continues, with the case likely to come up again in the near future.