Not the last session of assembly: Delhi govt to HC

Delhi government assures high court ongoing assembly session isn't last before dissolution; LG can convene future sessions amid BJP MLAs' petition.

The Delhi government on Monday submitted an undertaking before the Delhi high court, affirming that the ongoing session of the Delhi legislative assembly is not the last before its dissolution in February, and that the lieutenant governor (LG) retains the authority to convene subsequent sessions.

The petition alleged that despite repeated requests from the LG, the reports had not been forwarded for tabling before the assembly. (HT Archive)

“This is not the last session and is not even the last assembly in Delhi. The term of the Assembly is till February and the power of convening of the session is with the LG,” senior advocate Sudhir Nandrajog, representing the Delhi government, submitted before a bench of justice Sanjeev Narula.

The statement came in response to a plea by seven Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs, including Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta, seeking an urgent hearing of their petition. The petition requests directions to forward 12 reports by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to LG VK Saxena for tabling before the Delhi legislative assembly. The MLAs claimed the current session would lapse on December 4.

Nandrajog noted that a response to the petition was being prepared, as the matter was originally scheduled for a December 9 hearing. He also mentioned that he had not yet received the CAG’s reply, which was filed on Saturday. Taking note of the submissions, the court set December 9 as the hearing date and instructed the parties to complete the pleadings by then.

Represented by senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, the BJP MLAs which included Mohan Singh Bisht, Om Prakash Sharma, Ajay Kumar Mahawar, Abhay Verma, Anil Kumar Bajpai, and Jitendra Mahajan, argued that the CAG reports for 2017-18 to 2020-21 contained “sensitive” information and were being withheld by Delhi chief minister Atishi, who also holds the finance portfolio.

The petition alleged that despite repeated requests from the LG, the reports had not been forwarded for tabling before the assembly.

The “deliberate suppression” of these reports, the plea contended, violated democratic principles, hindered proper scrutiny of government actions and expenditures, and raised concerns over financial transparency and accountability.

The petition further claimed that BJP MLAs had previously approached the chief minister, chief secretary, and speaker regarding the matter, but no action was taken.

In its reply filed on Saturday, the CAG stated that eight reports pertaining to Delhi were pending with the city government for presentation before the assembly, as required under the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) Act. It added that it had written to the principal secretary (finance) in the past, urging compliance with the legal requirement to table the audit reports in the legislative assembly.