CAG reports in assembly: Unfortunate Delhi govt dragged feet on tabling, says HC

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Monday said CAG reports over city administration should have been promptly placed before the assembly for discussion and the state government "dragging its feet" on the issue raised "doubts on its bonafides".

Justice Sachin Datta, who was hearing a petition by the opposition MLAs from BJP, asked if the court could direct the speaker, having the "prerogative", to call a sitting of the assembly when elections were around the corner.

"The way you dragged your feet raises doubts about your bonafides.. You should have promptly forwarded the reports to the speaker for having a discussion on the floor of the assembly," the court said.

The judge went on, "You have dragged your feet to avoid having a discussion.. See the number of dates you held onto the report, and the time taken to send them to the LG, and then forwarding it to the speaker...The timeline is stark. See the way you have been dragging your feet is something that is unfortunate."

Opposition leader Vijender Gupta and BJP MLAs Mohan Singh Bisht, Om Prakash Sharma, Ajay Kumar Mahawar, Abhay Verma, Anil Kumar Bajpai and Jitendra Mahajan filed the petition last year and sought a direction to the speaker to call a sitting of the assembly for the purpose of tabling the CAG (comptroller and auditor general) reports.

Senior counsel for the government raised an objection over the "political" nature of the petition, and alleged the LG office made the reports public and shared it with newspapers.

"How does it matter?" asked the court.

The CAG, in its reports, was critical of some of the AAP-led Delhi government's policies, including its now-scrapped excise policy for reportedly causing losses to the exchequer.

The senior counsel for the government accused the petitioners of using court as a "tool for political gain" and urged it to note that they held a press conference when the matter was sub judice.

Justice Datta said the court couldn't "react" to the allegation as it was not concerned with politics.

The assembly secretariat had said no useful purpose would be served in tabling the CAG reports before the assembly as its tenure was ending in February.

No judicial order could be passed to the speaker in matters of internal functioning of the legislative assembly, it said.

The senior counsel, appearing for the petitioners, during the Monday hearing submitted the court was empowered to direct the speaker to call a sitting of the assembly for tabling the reports.

He said the failure to place the reports for discussion was not a matter of mere proceedings but a "substantive illegality" and a violation of the constitutional mandate -- an issue the courts could deal with.

Delhi assembly, it was argued, was still in session as there was no declaration of prorogation by the speaker.

"Assembly was adjourned sine die on December 4 (2024) by the speaker. But that does not cause the death of the session. There was no prorogation," argued the petitioners' counsel.

The assembly secretariat, in its response, said the CAG reports could now be examined as per the legal framework by the successor public accounts committee (PAC) of the legislature which would be elected by the next assembly post Delhi elections.

It also said the matter of execution of the speaker's power to regulate the house could be questioned before any court in the country.

The LG, on the other hand, said the high court was empowered to direct the speaker to immediately ensure the tabling of the reports before the house.

The matter would be heard on January 16.