Delhi High Court Seeks Response Of AAP Govt On A Plea By BJP MLAs Seeking CAG Reports

The Delhi High Court has sought a response of the AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) Government on a petition filed by several BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) MLAs (Members of Legislative Assembly) who sought a direction to place twelve CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) reports related to liquor duty, pollution, and finance before the Legislative Assembly.

A Single Bench of Justice Sanjeev Narula issued a notice to the Delhi government, the office of Legislative Assembly speaker, the Lieutenant Governor (LG), CAG, and the Accountant General (Audit), Delhi.

Vijender Gupta, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) and Delhi BJP MLAs Mohan Singh Bisht, Om Prakash Sharma, Ajay Kumar Mahawar, Abhay Verma, Anil Kumar Bajpai, and Jitendra Mahajan have filed the aforesaid petition. During the hearing, the counsel for the petitioners sought an earlier date of hearing owing to certain "compelling reasons". However, the counsel appearing for the respondents contended that the petition was filed with a political motive.

The petition has claimed that the CAG reports from 2017-2018 to 2021-2022, were pending with Delhi Chief Minister Atishi Marlena, who also holds the finance portfolio. It was further alleged that despite the LG's repeated requests, such reports were sent to him for tabling the same before the Assembly. The petition, filed by advocates Neeraj and Satya Ranjan Swain, the BJP MLAs had approached the Chief Minister, the Chief Secretary and the Speaker in the past but nothing came of it.

It was further alleged in the petition that a "deliberate suppression of vital information" not only violated the democratic principles but also prevented a proper scrutiny of the government action and expenditures, raising serious questions about the government's financial proprietary, transparency and accountability.

The petitioners, therefore, sought directions to the Finance Department to send a proposal to the LG for exercising his duties under Article 151(2) of the Constitution of India, 1950, Regulation 210(1) of the Regulations on Audit and Accounts, 2007 and Section 48 of the Government of National Capital Territory Act, 1991.

Accordingly, the High Court listed the case on December 9, 2024.

With PTI Inputs