Delhi HC asks AAP govt to respond to BJP MLAs plea for CAG reports

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought a response of the AAP government on a plea filed by several BJP MLAs seeking a direction to place 12 CAG reports related to liquor duty, pollution and finance before the assembly.

Justice Sanjeev Narula subsequently issued a notice to the Delhi government, the office of Legislative Assembly speaker, the lieutenant governor (LG), the comptroller and auditor general of India (CAG) and the accountant general (audit), Delhi.

The matter was posted for hearing on December 9.

The petition has been filed by leader of opposition in the Delhi assembly Vijender Gupta and Delhi BJP MLAs Mohan Singh Bisht, Om Prakash Sharma, Ajay Kumar Mahawar, Abhay Verma, Anil Kumar Bajpai and Jitendra Mahajan.

During the hearing, the counsel representing the lawmakers sought an earlier date of hearing owing to certain "compelling reasons".

The counsel appearing for one of the respondents, however, claimed the plea was filed with a political motive.

The plea, on the other hand, claimed the CAG reports from 2017-2018 to 2021-2022, were pending with Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, who also holds the finance portfolio.

The plea further alleged despite the LG's repeated requests, these reports have not been 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.

"Despite the LG's repeated requests and constitutional obligation, these reports were not sent to the LG and consequently, could not be tabled in the Delhi legislative assembly," it said.

The plea further alleged 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".