After getting a six-month extension to investigate the CNG fitness scam, the commission of inquiry headed by Justice S.N. Aggarwal (Retd) has approached lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung to direct anti-corruption branch chief Mukesh Kumar Meena to provide all records pertaining to the scam so that he could start the probe.
In a letter to Mr Jung, Justice Aggarwal said that since the relevant record pertaining to the inquiry by the commission was in possession of Mr Meena, who is presently working under his direct control, he may direct the officer to produce the entire record relating to the fitness scam in his possession before the commission within a week of the receipt of his request by Raj Niwas so that nobody is blamed for obstructing or unduly delaying the proceedings of the commission at a later date.
The letter dated December 30, 2015 stated: “This commission vide its order dated September 11, 2015 had directed Mr Meena, joint commissioner of police, ACB, to produce the relevant record in his power and possession related to the CNG fitness scam required by the commission in connection with the inquiry. On that day, coercive orders were also given against Mr Meena for failure on his part to produce the record before the commission as per the earlier orders in this regard duly served upon him.”
“The issue relating to the powers of the chief minister to constitute the commission of inquiry under the Commission of Inquiry Act and the validity thereof is sub-judice in the Delhi high court bench,” the letter said.
It may be noted that the Union home ministry has already declared the commission of inquiry on the CNG fitness scam as illegal, invalid and void ab initio. In a statement in September, the MHA said: “It has been clarified that GNCTD is not the competent authority to set up such an inquiry under various provisions of the Commission of Inquiry Act 1952. The notification issued by the GNCTD has therefore declared illegal, invalid and void ab initio.” The ACB chief had also reported to have refused to appear before the commission on account of the MHA notification.
Justice Aggarwal’s letter said: “Therefore, this commission is of the view that to ensure expeditious conclusion of inquiry proceedings it is necessary that the relevant record pertaining to the CNG fitness scam in possession of Mr Meena should be produced before the commission immediately so that the inquiry may continue and be brought to logical end at an early date. I hope you will agree that nobody is going to gain anything by withholding the relevant records as by the time inquiry may be concluded the final orders of the court would also come and that should be binding an all concerned including the commission.”
Reports suggest that the commission of inquiry was yet to start proceedings as the ACB chief had not provided any documents. The AAP government had initially fixed a deadline of three months to complete the probe, but extended the tenure to six months. Following media reports that the Aggarwal commission was defunct as it was yet to start the probe, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had stated in the Assembly that the commission of inquiry was still working.
In September, the Delhi high court had stayed the proceedings of the trial court till it decides who will prosecute the case on a plea of AAP government challenging the trial court’s nod to the lieutenant-governor-appointed special public prosecutor Sanjay Kumar Gupta to appear on behalf of the state. The special court had turned down the AAP government’s notification, appointing B.S. Joon as special public prosecutor observing that a lieutenant-governor-appointed special public prosecutor would conduct proceedings in the matter.
