The Gauhati High Court has clarified that findings of a commission of inquiry are merely recommendatory and cannot be enforced by courts while disposing of a public interest litigation related to the APSC cash-for-job scam.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury observed that such commissions function only as fact-finding bodies. Their reports, the court said, do not have binding legal force, leaving it to the government’s discretion to accept, reject, or partially implement the recommendations.
“The report of a Commission of Inquiry is recommendatory in nature… courts cannot compel their implementation,” the bench stated.
The PIL was filed by petitioners seeking action on the findings of the Justice (retd) B.K. Sharma Commission, which had probed irregularities in the Assam Public Service Commission recruitment process.
While declining to issue directions for enforcement of the report, the court took note of improvements in the functioning of APSC. It highlighted that since 2014, the commission has been conducting examinations regularly without any reported irregularities that could undermine its credibility.
The bench further remarked that these developments indicate that corrective steps may already have been implemented, even if not explicitly linked to the commission’s recommendations.
The ruling underscores the limited legal authority of inquiry commissions and reinforces the principle that policy decisions based on such reports remain within the executive domain.
APSC Functioning “Regular and Credible” Since 2014, Observes Gauhati High Court
