Slamming the AAP led Delhi government for delaying the tabling of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports in the assembly, the Delhi High Court on Monday questioned the government’s intent, saying the state government is "dragging its feet" on the issue and this raised doubts about the government’s bonafides.
“The way you have dragged your feet raises doubts about your bona fides. You should have promptly forwarded the reports to the Speaker and initiated a discussion in the House. The timeline is clear, you have dragged your feet to prevent the session from happening,” a bench headed by Justice Sachin Datta said
He was hearing a petition by the opposition MLAs from BJP, asked if the court could direct the speaker, having the "prerogative", to call a sitting of the assembly when elections were around the corner.
Citing the Delhi High Court observations, the BJP slammed the AAP government and questioned AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal if he considers himself above the Constitution as it attacked him over the Delhi government not tabling the CAG reports in the assembly. BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said the constitutional scheme requires a government to table reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), which scrutinises its revenue and expenses, but the AAP dispensation has not done it. "Does he consider himself above the Constitution?" he posed.
Trivedi alleged that the "anarchist character" of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is pervading the constitutional system. Noting that there are almost a dozen reports of the CAG related to the finances of the Delhi government, he said the AAP dispensation has refused to table them in the assembly claiming that there is no need for it. BJP’s south Delhi MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri has demanded Chief Minister Atishi’s resignation after the high court’s observation while Gupta said the Kejriwal government has been exposed.
In a statement, the AAP stated the CAG reports have been sent to the Delhi Assembly Speaker for tabling in the next session of the Assembly. Beyond this, we have no role.
During the hearing, Senior counsel for the government raised an objection over the "political" nature of the petition, and alleged the LG office made the reports public and shared it with newspapers. "How does it matter?" asked the court.
In the pre-lunch session, Justice Datta also remarked that the Delhi Government should have promptly placed the reports before the Assembly for discussion. The Court also said that calling for a session was the authority of the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and questioned if a mandamus could be issued to the Speaker to do the same especially when the elections were around the corner.
In the post-lunch session, Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani appeared for the petitioners and took the Court through important dates as well as relevant Rules governing the issue. “We ask for the Delhi Government to comply with its statutory obligations with respect to two issues. CAG reports be forwarded to the LG and to convene a session of the House…,” he said.
As Jethmalani concluded his submissions, Senior Advocate Rahul Mehra appearing for the other side said that while the matter was sub judice, BJP referred to Court's “dragged its feet” remark in a press conference against the Delhi Government. “They are using court as an instrument to play political games. Are we going to have a level playing field or is it the way we are going to have elections?” Mehra said. “They are holding a press conference when the matter is sub judice. Please ask them to have some restraint… have some respect for court atleast,” he said. The senior counsel for the government accused the petitioners of using court as a "tool for political gain" and urged it to note that they held a press conference when the matter was sub judice. Justice Datta said the court couldn't "react" to the allegation as it was not concerned with politics.
However, the Court remarked that it cannot go into politics and listed the matter for hearing next on January 16. At the last hearing, the Delhi Assembly Secretariat told the court that tabling the CAG reports on city administration in the assembly wouldn’t serve any purpose since the assembly's term ends in February.
The CAG, in its reports, was critical of some of the AAP-led Delhi government's policies, including its now-scrapped excise policy for reportedly causing losses to the exchequer.
