The AAP Government is going the whole hog to corner lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung for giving a clean chit to all officers who were suspects in the alleged 2012 CNG fitness scam by reopening the Rs100 crore scam in which three top officials of Sheila Dikshit Government are under scanner.
However, sources close to the l-G countered the very premise of the AAP Government’s action, saying that the l-G had already formed a committee — headed by Justice (retired) Mukul Mudgal — to look into the irregularities in the CNG fitness scam and a report has been submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
According to top sources, “The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) is Government is flogging a dead horse by reopening the 2002 CNG Fitness Scam, which the l-G had already cleared and several top officials have also been given a clean chit”.
“The committee, in a confidential report, had said that transport, law, planning and finance departments had done mistake in awarding work to a wrong company. But the committee is said to have not held anyone responsible for the goof-up. According to sources, the lieutenant Governor had on the basis of the committee report given clean chit to the Delhi Government officials in the scam. The report has already been submitted to the Union Home Ministry,” added the source.
But there is a serious thinking going on in the AAP Government that it should take action against the lG for not granting permission to the CBI to question the suspected officials. There are indications that the AAP Government may approach the Centre with documents suggesting that the CBI was not allowed to investigate the matter. “If the need be, the Government can even approach President Pranab Mukherjee to take action against the lieutenant Governor,” a close confidant of the AAP Government said.
The reopening of the fitness scam is also bound to have major repercussions. Firstly, it was in defiance of the lieutenant Governor’s firm order and secondly it was bound to send a negative signal among the bureaucrats. A few bureaucrats who were accused in the case have even retired from the service. The question remains that ACB will have to take prior permission from lieutenant Governor to reinvestigate the fitness scam and how could the lieutenant Governor give permission to probe the matter in which he had himself ordered to close the case. Besides, whether the ACB can probe against retired officials against who no departmental inquiry had been conducted.
During the AAP Government’s previous 49-day stint, Kejriwal had said that all documents would be provided to the CBI after the probe agency sought some papers pertaining to the scam. The probe, however, got stuck as the Kejriwal Government resigned midway. A senior officer said since the elected Government was now in place in Delhi, the ACB could probe the matter thoroughly. The source said that the probe was stalled due to inability to get permission to question the officials.
The CNG fitness scam came to light in 2012 when the ACB officials found that the two companies - ESP India Pvt. ltd and ESP USA - did not have any link with each other and that ESP India was formed in 2006 with ‘dishonest intentions’. ESP India did not conduct certain tests to check a CNG vehicle’s fitness, which it was required to, but still charged for these tests. After conducting a preliminary inquiry, the ACB registered a case on December 17, 2012 under several sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
So far, four persons have been arrested in connection with the scam. But only a few months ago the l-G reportedly cleared all the eight officials who were named, stating that after careful consideration of the facts and material on record no case was made out under the Prevention of Corruption Act. However, the ACB said the case could not be closed since the matter was sub-judice and was under investigation.