MHA set to term commission null and void
The Union home ministry is all set to term null and void the commission of inquiry ordered by the AAP government to probe the alleged financial irregularities in the Delhi District Cricket Commission. The move by lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung, who has already questioned the legality of appointment of the probe commission and referred the matter to the Centre, has triggered a fresh round of confrontation with chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who said that the matter was out of the L-G’s purview.
In his communication to the home ministry, Mr Jung has reportedly stated that the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952, empowers only the Centre and the state governments to appoint a commission of inquiry. Since Delhi is a Union Territory, a source said that the commission of inquiry could be ordered only with the concurrence of the Centre through the L-G.
The source said that even the funding of the DDCA comes not only from Delhi, but also other states and hence it was not just the AAP government’s jurisdiction to conduct a probe into the matter. The L-G is said to have cited that the inquiry into the CNG fitness kit scam, set up by the Kejriwal government earlier, was set aside by the Centre on the same ground.
Mr Kejriwal has, however, claimed that the action amounts to “unjustified interference” as the inquiry was “perfectly” legal and Union finance minister Arun Jaitley should cooperate with the inquiry commission and stop “misusing” the L-G office. “We are not scared when all the agencies under them, including the police, CBI, DRI are after us, why are they scared with one commission of enquiry ” he added.
Mr Kejriwal also maintained that the Transaction Business Rules (TBR) clarify that this file is not needed to be sent to the L-G for clearance, tersely adding “he is not a dictator”. “According to the Constitution, the lieutenant-governor has three subjects under him — the police, public order and land. According to the TBR, no other file should go to the L-G for clearance; he is not a dictator,” he added.
Mr Kejriwal said that the rule says that the commission of enquiry can be instituted by the Cabinet and Legislative Assembly; they are empowered to do so. “Raising objections to this is politics to save those who are corrupt,” he said on sidelines of an event. “Mr Jaitley should cooperate with the commission of enquiry and stop misusing the L-G house. I also hope that Union home minister Rajnath Singh will not try to shield him by obstructing the probe.”
A senior bureaucrat said that the Union home ministry was already in the process of terming the commission of inquiry as null and void. “The home ministry will communicate its order to the L-G, who in turn will pass it on to the AAP government.”
The Delhi Government also issued a statement terming the action by the L-G as unjustified interference in the functioning of a democratically elected government.
“This action clearly amounts to unjustified interference in the functioning of a democratically elected government. It is unconstitutional and violates the Transaction of Business Rules, 1993. This is the second instance within four months when the LG has unsuccessfully tried to block Delhi Government’s decision to probe cases of Corruption,”
The statement said that the LG should publicly state what was his interest in scuttling the probe into the DDCA scam and whom is he was trying to protect. “If LG or MHA are aggrieved, they may approach appropriate courts.”
The government claimed that a whistle blower from the DDCA had informed that there would be an attempt to get the “Commission of Inquiry scuttled through the LG.” “Details of this whistle blowers meeting with the CM were there in that DDCA file, which CBI had been looking for. That information now seems to be coming true.”
The AAP government had earlier this week appointed a Commission of Inquiry, headed by former Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium, to probe alleged corruption in the DDCA between 1992 and 2015, and asked it to submit its report within three months.
The state cricket body had been headed by Mr Jaitley for about 13 years from 1999 to 2013.
