Today(August 28),The conflict between the Delhi government and the Lieutenant Governor escalated into a legal dispute as Delhi’s Standing Counsel debarred. Delhi Law Minister Atishi issued an order on August 7, barring Standing Counsel Santosh Ahlawat for allegedly providing false information in an affidavit.
New Delhi: A new political clash erupted between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena following an order by Law Minister Atishi, which debarred Standing Counsel (Services) Avnish Ahlawat from representing the Delhi government.
Atishi, On August 7, issued the order, accusing Ahlawat of providing “false and untruthful statements and submitting wrong information in the affidavit” before the Delhi High Court in a suo motu writ petition.
The order further alleged that Ahlawat offered a “wrong legal opinion” in a contempt case, despite not being the Standing Counsel (Civil).
The Minister instructed the Delhi Chief Secretary to initiate an inquiry into the matter and designated Santosh Kumar Tripathi, the Standing Counsel (Civil), to represent the Delhi government in all related cases during the interim. The suo motu petition in question pertains to improving Delhi’s health infrastructure, for which the High Court established a committee of experts.
On August 28, Deputy Secretary (Services) Bhairab Dutt issued a communication to Delhi government officials, highlighting that in 2017, the services department, with the approval of the Lieutenant Governor (LG), established a distinct panel to handle the government’s service-related matters.
It’s important to note that ‘services’ in the national capital region fall under the jurisdiction of the LG.
This communication essentially indicates that Avnish Ahlawat will continue to represent the Delhi government in matters related to services.
The communication emphasized that only the designated panel of advocates is authorized to represent or defend various government departments in service-related matters.
The communication stated,
“In view of the above, I am, therefore, directed to inform that with the approval of Hon’ble Lt. Governor, Delhi, the Services Department, Govt. of NCT of Delhi has notified a panel of advocates consisting of Standing Counsel and Additional Standing Counsels to represent/defend various departments of GNCTD before Hon’ble CAT/High Court in services matters. In such cases, these Standing Counsel/Additional Standing Counsels/Panel Counsels only can represent/defend the various departments of GNCTD before Hon’ble CAT/High Court,”
This development added another layer to the ongoing power struggle between the Delhi Government and the LG, highlighting the complexities of governance in the national capital and the legal intricacies involved in their disputes.