HC to pass order on proper functioning of Prasar Bharati

The Delhi High Court today said that it would pass an interim order for the proper functioning of Prasar Bharati after the Centre failed to bring about conciliation between its CEO and Chairman, who have been at loggerheads.

A bench headed by Chief Justice A P Shah said that it would pass an appropriate order on Monday and it might consider appointment of a retired Supreme Court judge to supervise the meetings of the Prasar Bharati Board.

The court was also of the view that the allegations of financial irregularities in the functioning of the public broadcaster should be inquired into by the Central Vigilance Commission as suggested by the Prasar Bharati Chairman Arun Bhatnagar.

Responding to a query from the Bench, Advocate Rajiv Nayar, appearing for Bhatnagar, said that the allegations must be investigated by the CVC as no internal audit has been done in the organisation for the past several years.

The government also pleaded for some more time to sort out the differences between Bhatnagar and the CEO B S Lalli .

"The Government should be given a chance to sort out the problem. Give me a fortnight," Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium said, adding that the Centre had to explore some other options to deal with the problem.

He said that attempts to resolve the issue through "bilateral and mutual negotiations" between the Chairman and the CEO may not work.

The court, however, was not convinced with his arguments and said, "Its strange that there is no internal audit. Time has come when we should pass some order. Some kind of intervention is required. We can't be a silent spectator".