The Delhi High Court has advanced the hearing on a plea by BJP MLAs seeking the tabling of 12 CAG reports regarding government financial practices. The court will hear the case on December 2, emphasizing the urgency for transparency during the ongoing Winter Session. The Delhi government faces allegations of deliberately withholding these reports.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday advanced the hearing on a plea filed by several BJP MLAs, who sought the tabling of 12 CAG reports related to liquor duty, pollution, and finance in the Delhi Legislative Assembly. The court preponed the hearing from December 9 to December 2, acknowledging the urgency of the matter as the Winter Session of the Delhi Assembly commenced on Friday and will conclude on December 3.
Justice Sanjeev Narula remarked, “For the reasons stated in the application, the hearing is scheduled for Monday,” granting an early hearing request filed by the petitioners, led by Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta and BJP MLAs Mohan Singh Bisht, Om Prakash Sharma, Ajay Kumar Mahawar, Abhay Verma, Anil Kumar Bajpai, and Jitendra Mahajan.
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Advocate Anil Soni, representing the petitioners, emphasized the urgency of the matter, stating that the Delhi government had not filed replies to the petition despite prior notices. He underlined the importance of the reports during the ongoing Winter Session, critical for assessing the government’s financial practices and transparency.
The Delhi government’s counsel, however, refuted the urgency claim.
The BJP MLAs’ plea alleged that CAG reports from 2017-2018 to 2021-2022 remain with Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, who also holds the finance portfolio. The petition accused the Delhi government of failing to forward the reports to the Lieutenant Governor (LG) for tabling in the assembly, despite repeated requests from the LG’s office.
The petition also stated that the BJP MLAs had approached the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary, and Assembly Speaker in the past to address the issue, but no action had been taken.
The petition alleged a “deliberate suppression of vital information” by the Delhi government, which violates democratic principles. It further accused the government of preventing proper scrutiny of its actions and expenditures, raising concerns over financial transparency and accountability.
“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,”
the plea stated.
The BJP MLAs requested the High Court to direct the Finance Department to submit the necessary proposals to the LG for compliance under Article 151(2) of the Constitution, Regulation 210(1) of the Regulations on Audit and Accounts, 2007, and Section 48 of the Government of National Capital Territory Act, 1991.
The High Court had earlier issued notices to the Delhi government, Legislative Assembly Speaker, LG’s office, CAG, and Accountant General (Audit), Delhi, seeking responses to the petition.
The hearing on December 2 is expected to shed light on the government’s obligations concerning transparency and accountability in presenting crucial financial data to the public domain.
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