Arvind Kejriwal says DDCA probe work to go on

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal reiterated on Friday that the commission of inquiry set up by his AAP government to probe the alleged irregularities in the Delhi cricket body will “continue” its investigation. His assertion came as a public interest litigation was filed in the Delhi high court challenging the decision to probe alleged “malpractices and irregularities” in functioning of the Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA). The court has listed the case for further hearing on January 27.

The commission, headed by former solicitor-general Gopal Subramaniam, was formed by the AAP government last month. The Centre had on January 8 declared it “unconstitutional and illegal.”

“The DDCA inquiry commission will continue to function,” the chief minister tweeted. The Union home ministry termed the inquiry as illegal because the Delhi government does not have the jurisdiction to probe the DDCA’s affairs.

The plea, which came up before a two-judge bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath, was opposed by the Centre on the ground of locus standi.

Appearing for the Centre, additional solicitor-general Sanjay Jain said the plea was not maintainable as the petitioner, Ramakant Kumar, has not made the Union government or the DDCA as party. The court directed the petitioner to provide a copy of the plea to the Centre and listed the matter for hearing on January 27.

The PIL claimed that the AAP government’s decision was “unconstitutional, illegal and beyond its jurisdiction” as the approval of the lieutenant-governor had not been taken. It said that the notification was also held as unconstitutional and illegal by the Union home ministry on January 7 , which had cancelled the commission also.

A letter issued by the lieutenant-governor’s office had stated that the “ministry of home affairs, Government of India, has held that the notification... Issued by directorate of vigilance, Government of NCT of Delhi, is unconstitutional, illegal and therefore has no legal effect.”

The plea alleged that the Delhi government has refused to accept the MHA decision.

A committee of three members, also appointed by the Kejriwal government to study the body, did not mention Union finance minister Arun Jaitley in a nearly 250-page report submitted last month. Its findings were treated by the chief minister as a preliminary assessment and he then tasked Mr Subramaniam to investigate the matter in detail.