lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung on Friday refused to clear the file on appointment of Swati Maliwal as Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chairperson, claiming that the file has not been properly processed.
The file was sent to the l-G by the AAP Government on Thursday for clearance.
Softening his stand in the midst of a bitter row with the AAP Government, the l-G said he never tried to negate authority of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and urged for the new proposal to be sent to his office again.
In the two-page letter written to the CM on Friday, the l-G mentioned, “Along with your letter I have received the file pertaining to the appointment of Maliwal. I am sure you have done due diligence in selecting Maliwal and the other members, and I would have no hesitation in confirming the appointment based on your recommendation.”
Also, Jung rejected the allegations that the DCW’s office was locked or files were taken away. “It is completely untrue that the office of DCW’s Chairperson was locked or files taken away. The legal position was conveyed in writing to her, through the Member-Secretary of the DCW, in the best interest of the organisation and the Government. The DCW is a quasi-judicial body and any infirmity in appointment of the Chairperson and Members could nullify actions taken by them and leave us all in an embarrassing situation,” the letter said.
Jung also mentioned that proposal for appointment/resignation/reappointment/removal that was submitted by the CM to the l-G by the Arvind Kejriwal Government in January 2014 whereas the practice was not followed in this tenure.
Pointing out the error in the file confirming Maliwal’s appointment, the l-G wrote, “However, I find that the file has not been processed properly and it still contains notifications under which Chairperson/Members of DCW were appointed under your orders after the note of the Minister of Social Welfare & Women and Child Development wherein he mentions that he is the appropriate authority to take the decision as “Government”. This needs to be rectified since it would not hold good in law and a fresh, revised notification needs to be prepared and submitted to this office at the earliest to enable me to confirm the appointments of Chairperson/Members of Delhi Commission for Women.”