On last day in office, Lokayukta Sarin indicts CM

In an embarrassment to Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit, Delhi Lokayukta Justice Manmohan Sarin today ruled that granting of provisional certificate for regularisation of unauthorised colonies in 2008 by her was done to gain political mileage in the elections.
In a judgement on the last day of his office, Sarin issued the order on a complaint filed by the Delhi BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate Harsh Vardhan against Dikshit alleging she issued provisional regularisation certificates with an intention to lure voters, officials said.
"On the question of provisional certificates being issued prior to the election, we have noticed that the conditions of the Supreme Court order have not been complied with.

"So we have requested the President that in such cases, the person concerned should be advised to shun these so-called pre-election sops," Sarin told reporters.
In his complaint, Harsh Vardhan had said it was a misconduct on part of the Chief Minister and regularisation was wrong and also in contravention to a 2006 Supreme Court ruling that ahead of regularisation of any unauthorised colony, they should provide basic amenities, said Vardhan's lawyer Sunita Bhardwaj.
The petition also said that colonies or parts of colonies falling in notified or reserved forest areas cannot be regularised.

Delhi government had issued provisional regularisation certificates to over 1,218 unauthorised colonies before the 2008 assembly polls and had announced regularisation of 1,639 colonies just before the polls now.

These unauthorised colonies in which around 40 lakh people reside do not have basic amenities.
In 2010, a complaint was filed before the Lokayukta's court and notices were issued to Dikshit and the Delhi government.
Justice Sarin, on his last day, also passed two other orders including one which recommended recusal by persons holding an office while taking any decision in matters where their family members were involved.