Delhi govt paid Rs 39-lakh fee to lawyers to fight cases filed by bureaucrats in 1 year: Goel

The Delhi Assembly Secretariat has paid over Rs 39 lakh as fee to lawyers to fight court cases filed by government officers against House committees in the past one year, Speaker Ram Niwas Goel said today.

On the last day of the Monsoon session, Goel said it was a very "serious" issue that officers were going against the committees of Delhi Assembly, which makes laws, and the Lieutenant General was granting permission to bureaucrats to do that.

The House adopted a private-member resolution, moved by AAP legislator Shri Dutt Sharma, with a voice vote condemning officers to challenge the powers, privileges and procedure of Delhi Assembly.

"I want to bring this on the record of the House that Assembly has paid Rs 39.68 lakh as fee of lawyers while Rs 20-lakh fee is still pending with Assembly Secretariat.

"There are currently eight court cases which are pending against assembly committees," Goel told the House.

The resolution adopted by the House states that there was a "surprising trend" among a few IAS officers in Delhi to challenge the powers, privileges and procedure of Delhi Assembly and its committees.

"This House condemns such actions of misinformation and misrepresentation of facts before the courts & media and resolves that strict action should be taken against such officers of belittling the stature of legislature, its committees and members," the resolution read.