BJP MLAs move Delhi High Court again over placing of CAG reports before assembly

New Delhi: Seven BJP MLAs on Monday approached the Delhi High Court seeking tabling of 14 Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports pertaining to the city administration before the assembly.

The matter was mentioned by the senior counsel for the petitioners before a bench of Acting Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela which directed that it be listed for hearing in the "normal course".

This is the second petition by the legislators in relation to the CAG reports.

The petitioners' senior counsel said in spite of an earlier writ petition on the issue, 14 CAG reports were yet to placed before the Assembly by the government.

When the bench questioned what was the urgency in the matter, the senior lawyer said once election was announced, the session of the assembly would not be called.

"Normal course", the court said.

Opposition leader Vijender Gupta and BJP MLAs Mohan Singh Bisht, Om Prakash Sharma, Ajay Kumar Mahawar, Abhay Verma, Anil Kumar Bajpai and Jitendra Mahajan had earlier filed a petition on the issue of placing of CAG reports before the assembly.

In the latest plea filed through lawyers Neeraj and Satya Ranjan Swain, the petitioners said in spite of the order passed in the earlier case, the Speaker was yet to receive the reports for taking further action.

"Hon'ble Speaker informed the petitioners that he is not in receipt of the CAG Reports. On 20.12.2024, when the petitioner no.1 again enquired about receiving the CAG reports, the Hon'ble Speaker of the Delhi Legislative Assembly apprised that he has not yet received the CAG reports till 12:51 PM," the latest petition said.

"This is a clear violation of the statement/undertaking given by the senior counsel on behalf of the GNCTD before this Hon'ble Court," it added.

They have therefore sought a direction to the Delhi government and the chief minister/finance minister to forward the 14 CAG reports in a time bound manner to the Delhi Speaker for taking all necessary and consequential action.