The Delhi High Court will hear on Wednesday a petition by the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) against the alleged freezing of its funds by the State authorities.
Justice Subramonium Prasad asked the counsel for the child rights body on Tuesday to serve a copy of the plea to the office of the lieutenant governor and inform it about its scheduled listing.
The petition came up for hearing before the high court on transfer from the Supreme Court.
“The present petition is received on transfer from the apex court. Petitioner is directed to serve a copy (of the petition) on the respondent informing that the matter is listed tomorrow,” the court said.
On December 15, the top court had asked the DCPCR to ventilate its grievance before the high court after it complained its funds have been frozen by the state authorities.
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing the DCPCR, contended before the Supreme Court that the funds of the commission cannot be frozen.
“How can six million children of the state be told that not a penny is going to come to the commission?” he asked.
The Supreme Court had then questioned why “every dispute” between the Delhi government and the Lieutenant Governor (LG) should land before it, and directed that the plea be re-numbered as a petition before the high court.
Last year, Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena approved a Women and Child Development Department’s proposal to institute an inquiry and ordered a special audit into alleged misuse of government funds by DCPCR.
Saxena also directed that no further request for allocation of funds by DCPCR will be entertained before the completion of the inquiry and special audit.
The DCPCR has said the allegation of misuse of government funds by it is malafide.