This Article is From Mar 18, 2012

Azam Khan takes oath as Cabinet minister in UP

Azam Khan takes oath as Cabinet minister in UP
Lucknow: Samajwadi Party leader Mohammad Azam Khan today took oath as a Cabinet minister in Uttar Pradesh. This is the second time he was sworn-in following the fiasco on March 15 when he had not taken the pledge of secrecy and office as per the Constitutional procedures along with Akhilesh Yadav.

Mr Khan was administered oath by Governor B L Joshi at a function at Raj Bhawan in the presence of senior party leaders including Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

Four Ministers of State Rajendra Singh Rana, Arvind Singh Gope, Bhagwat Sharan Gangwar and Aruna Kori were also elevated with Independent charge.

They were administered oath as Minister of State (Independent charge) by the Governor.

On March 15, nineteen Cabinet ministers and 28 Ministers of State, besides Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, took oath in a grand function held at La Martinere College ground.

Later, it was found that Mr Khan had not taken the pledge of secrecy and office as per the Constitutional procedures.

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Allahabad High Court claiming that Mr Khan did not follow the procedures enshrined in Form V of the Third Schedule of the Constitution. The PIL was filed by a local lawyer, Yodendra Kumar Misra.

The petitioner had alleged that in absence of oath of office as required, no person can perform the functions as a minister and he is to be deemed a usurper of the office.

The petitioner had prayed that the court may issue a writ in the nature of quo warranto against Mr Khan as he cannot function as a minister of the state.

Taking note of the anomaly, the political leadership checked out the video recordings of the ceremony to find out the position after which it was decided that Khan should take the oath of office and secrecy again.

.