Garhwal Post Bureau
Nainital, 9 Apr: The Uttarakhand High Court today heard a public interest litigation (PIL) regarding alleged irregularities at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM), Uttarkashi, covering the period between 2018 and 2022. After considering the matter, the Division Bench has directed both the State and Central Governments to submit their replies.
The hearing was held before the bench led by Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and also comprising Justice Subhash Upadhyay. It may also be reminded here that earlier, also, the Court had asked the State Government, the Central Government and other parties to file their responses. However, both the Centre and the state government have not done so and on their behalf, their counsel requested additional time to submit affidavits. The Court granted them more time and directed that replies be filed accordingly.
It may be recalled that in this matter, the PIL has been filed by Dinesh Chandra Uniyal, who has alleged that several serious irregularities had taken place at NIM during the stated period, including malpractices under the guise of providing employment. He has sought a thorough investigation into the matter. The State and Central Governments, however, opposed the petition, maintaining that no irregularities had occurred.
The petitioner had further contended that the Registrar had not been made a party to the proceedings. On the other hand, the Centre and the state governments reminded that the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) had already examined the matter. According to the CAG’s report, no irregularities were found. The respondents contended that the allegations raised in the petition are baseless. On this basis, the governments argued that the public interest litigation should be dismissed.
The Court, however, directed the State and Central Governments to place their replies on record in view of the allegations made, thereby keeping the matter open for further consideration.
It may be reminded here that Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) located in Uttarkashi is a top mountaineering institution of India along with Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling.
