Concerted attempts by Delhi govt to 'mislead' courts, says LG secretariat letter to Centre

New Delhi: The Delhi LG Secretariat has written to the Union home secretary over "violations" by the Delhi government and "concerted attempts" to "mislead" courts with the aim to "influence" the justice delivery system, Raj Niwas officials said on Thursday.

The Delhi government attempts to "influence" the justice delivery system through filing of "motivated and premeditated" petitions and presenting "patently false" affidavits, they said.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, however, said courts are the last resort after officers do not follow ministers' directions. No action was taken by the lieutenant governor against such officers, it said in a statement.

"Even after repeated instructions issued by ministers concerned, the Centre's officers do not act and the lieutenant governor doesn't respond to requests by the ministers," the government said.

The letter from Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena's principal secretary cited various cases in the Supreme Court and Delhi High Court and the alleged "violations" of the Delhi government with regard to its "dealings" with these courts.

"Of late, there have been concerted attempts at misleading the courts, with an apparent aim of influencing the justice delivery system by way of filing motivated and premeditated petitions and trying to secure an endorsement of the same from the courts by presenting patently false affidavits," the letter alleged.

It said "GNCTD (Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi) Vs the Lt Governor" in various matters in different courts has become the "prevalent norm" rather than an exception.

"The attempts obviously are, apart from misleading the courts, to create a false media narrative which maligns the constitutional office of Lt Governor in public domain," said the letter sent to the Union home secretary with Saxena's approval.

The cases quoted in the letter include matters related to infrastructure in the Delhi High Court and subordinate courts, release of funds for Delhi Jal Board and 'Farishtey' scheme, DCPCR, classification of conforming and non-conforming wards related to the 2021-22 excise policy.

The letter is intended to apprise the home ministry of the developments in Delhi with regard to "avoidable litigation" in various courts, it said.

The AAP government said it is quite "unfortunate" that attempts are being made to encroach the jurisdiction of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi.

The Supreme Court has clearly stated that Delhi has a democratically elected government which is accountable to the people. Delhi cannot be subsumed as a unit of the Union, it said.

In the spirit of cooperative federalism, the Union of India must exercise its powers within the boundaries created by the Constitution, it added.