NEW DELHI: Seven BJP legislators on Monday filed a petition in the Delhi High Court seeking the immediate tabling of 14 Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports concerning the city’s administration before the assembly.
Senior counsel representing the petitioners mentioned the matter before a bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela.
The court directed the matter to be listed for hearing in the “normal course.” This is the second petition by the legislators about the CAG reports. Despite a prior writ petition addressing the same concern, the Delhi government has yet to present the reports to the assembly, the petitioners’ counsel argued.
When the bench inquired about the urgency, the senior counsel highlighted that with elections looming, assembly sessions may not be convened, delaying further action.
The petitioners include Opposition Leader Vijender Gupta and BJP MLAs Mohan Singh Bisht, Om Prakash Sharma, Ajay Kumar Mahawar, Abhay Verma, Anil Kumar Bajpai, and Jitendra Mahajan.
The group previously sought intervention over the non-tabling of CAG reports. In the latest plea, filed through advocates Neeraj and Satya Ranjan Swain, the MLAs claimed that the Speaker of the Delhi Legislative Assembly had not received the reports.
“On December 20, 2024, petitioner No. 1 inquired again and was informed by the Speaker that the CAG reports had not been received as of 12:51pm,” the petition stated.
The petition alleges that this inaction violates a prior undertaking made by the Delhi government before the court.
The BJP MLAs have requested the court to direct the Delhi government, along with the chief minister and finance minister, to forward the CAG reports to the Speaker promptly to ensure necessary actions are taken without further delay.The court has yet to announce a date for the hearing.
HC notice to TMC MP Saket Gokhale on Lakshmi Puri’s contempt plea
The Delhi HC on Monday sought a response from Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale on a plea by Lakshmi Puri, former Indian Assistant Secretary-General to the United Nations, seeking contempt action against him for allegedly failing to comply with a court direction to apologise and pay Rs 50 lakh in damages as part of a defamation suit filed by her.
Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, hearing Puri’s plea on Monday, issued a notice to Gokhale and directed him to disclose all his assets, properties, and bank accounts within four weeks.