Issued order to pay sacked DARC fellows: Finance dept tells Delhi HC

Delhi govt's services department told the high court that it issued orders for payment of stipends to sacked DARC fellows from June 1 to August 9, 2023.

The Delhi government’s services and finance department on Friday told the Delhi high court that it issued orders for payment of stipends to Delhi Assembly Research Centre (DARC) fellows for the services rendered from June 1, 2023, to August 9, 2023 on Wednesday.

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The fellows were sacked by lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena.

“We issued orders on November 8 for payment. We have started receiving compliance,” the Delhi government’s services and finance department appearing through advocate Avnish Ahlawat told a single-judge bench of justice Subramonium Prasad.

The court posted the plea by the sacked fellows seeking restoration of the court’s earlier order staying their termination for December 6.

Considering the department’s submission that it agreed to release the payments, the court asked for a timeframe within which the payments would be processed.

Saxena on July 5 sacked over 400 specialists engaged across 23 departments citing they were appointed in a “non-transparent way”. The services of 116 fellows were discontinued against which 17 sacked fellows had approached the high court. The fellows contended that their services were terminated prematurely in an illegal manner.