Shimla, Sept. 4 -- The Himachal Pradesh High Court has set aside the appointment of Surinder Kumar Vashisht as Chief Executive Officer-cum-Secretary of the Himachal Pradesh Housing and Urban Development Authority (HIMUDA), holding that he was not eligible for the post under the applicable service rules.

Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua passed the order while allowing a writ petition filed by Anjori Kapoor, a senior Chief Engineer in HIMUDA, who had challenged the upgradation of Vashisht's post and his subsequent appointment as CEO-cum-Secretary.

The court directed the state government to initiate a fresh selection process for the post strictly in accordance with the applicable Recruitment and Promotion (R&P) Rules and ordered the competent aut...