Kumar won’t join till final HC order

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 17

Retired bureaucrat Suresh Kumar, it is learnt, is unwilling to join as Chief Principal Secretary of the Punjab Chief Minister despite the Punjab and Haryana High Court Division Bench staying a Single Bench order quashing his appointment. 

In a letter to Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today, he wrote: “… it will be appropriate to wait for the final order in the appeal filed by the Punjab Government against the Single Bench order of January 15.” 

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The CM had visited Suresh Kumar’s residence twice to convince him to join back after the stay on February 14.

The next date of hearing is April 17. Kumar was the key link between the Chief Minister’s Office and other ministries as well as the CMO and Government of India.

Kumar has all along maintained that he would not like to join in the same capacity, especially because of the failure of the Punjab Advocate General’s office to defend his case “properly”.

The General Administration Department (GAD) had in a letter asked him to join the CMO after the stay order.

Kumar is learnt to have met the CM on Thursday evening. Though not a closed-door meeting, he was to have a one-on-one meeting on Friday. But the CM being indisposed because of ill-health, the meeting could not take place.