News Analysis India

Tag: Delhi Government

  • Arvind Kejriwal: AAP to cite Subrata Roy precedent to give Arvind Kejriwal access to facilities to run govt

    The Aam Aadmi Party plans to plead in court that a part of the Tihar Central Jail complex be declared as ‘prison’ to allow Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to gain access to video conferencing and other office facilities essential to run the Delhi government.

    According to AAP insiders, the party’s legal team is doing spadework to petition the court citing precedents when undertrials were allowed to operate their offices from inside Tihar jail.

    “The most high-profile precedent is that of Sahara group’s Subrata Roy who got permission from court to use office facility inside Tihar jail to negotiate sale of his luxury hotels in New York and London to raise his bail money. In 2014, the special court complex inside Tihar was declared ‘jail’ by director-general (prisons),” a senior AAP functionary, who did not wish to be identified, told ET.The functionary said that Unitech promoters Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra were also found to be illegally operating an office from Tihar jail. “If those who have swindled money of the people can run their offices, the court should not have a problem to grant the request of an elected chief minister for similar facilities.” Under the Prisons Act, the director-general (prisons) or the lieutenant-governor have the powers to declare any facility as a “prison” for security reasons or for ease of operation.

    With Kejriwal remanded to jail and refusing to quit as CM, an unprecedented situation has emerged for the first time in history, of a CM insisting on running the government from behind bars. As per Rule 1349 of the Jail Manual, only 10 facilities are extended to an undertrial prisoner – legal defence, interviews with lawyers or family members (for legal purposes), signing vakalatnamas, delegation of power of attorney, execution of will, essential religious necessities as per rules, applications to courts for legal aid at government cost as per provisions of law, other applications to courts, application to legal aid societies for free legal aid and such other facilities as are sanctioned by the government. These do not include video conferencing facilities or signatures on files.

  • Liquor scam case: CM Kejriwal in Tihar, what happens to Delhi govt, AAP – The Economic Times Video

    Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest poses a leadership question before the Aam Aadmi Party. In this video, Nidhi Sharma, The Economic Times, explains the liquor scam case involving CM Kejriwal, his judicial custody in Tihar jail, and what happens to the Delhi government and AAP. Can AAP continue to govern effectively? Watch!

  • Atishi declares order of appointing Delhi govt standing counsel on interim basis ‘invalid’

    NEW DELHI: Delhi Law Minister Atishi has declared as “invalid” an order issued by the principal secretary (Law) appointing another lawyer as standing counsel to represent Delhi government before the Delhi High Court on interim basis instead of standing counsel (civil) Santosh Kumar Tripathi.

    The minister, in an order issued on February 15, said “Tripathi will continue to handle the responsibilities of standing counsel (civil), Delhi High Court, GNCTD”.

    A copy of the order has also been sent to the registrar general of the high court.Earlier this month, Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena had said that government counsel have made “misleading” statements before the high court related to a report on the opening of liquor vends in conforming and non-conforming wards while implementing the now-rescinded excise policy in the national capital, officials had said.

    Later on February 14, the principal secretary (Law) issued an order stating, “As an interim arrangement and to ensure proper representation of GNCTD of Delhi before Hon’ble High Court of Delhi, Shri Anupam Srivastava, Additional Standing Counsel (Civil) is hereby appointed Standing Counsel (Civil), Delhi High Court NCT of Delhi till further orders. He will perform all the duties of Standing Counsel (Civil), Delhi High Court, GNCT of Delhi and conduct the cases presently handled by Shri Santosh Kumar Tripathi.”

    Taking note of this, the next day Atishi issued an order saying that the principal secretary (Law) had issued the order on the directions of the LG and the Chief Secretary and the appointment of the standing counsel is a transferred subject and is a decision taken by the Council of Ministers of the Delhi government.”Removal or appointment of a standing counsel (whether in a permanent or interim manner) is outside the, purview of the Hon’ble LG. Neither is this covered under the GNCTD Amendment Act 2023,” she said in the order.”The impugned order has been issued by principal secretary (Law) without the approval of the minister in-charge and is therefore without basis in law, and is in violation of Allocation of Business Rules, Transaction of Business Rules, GNCTD Act and Article 239AA of the Constitution. Therefore, the impugned order is ab initio null and void, and therefore declared invalid,” she said.

    The principal secretary (Law) on the instructions of LG, had also asked Tripathi not to appear on behalf of Delhi government before any court of law till further orders and till the decision is taken in the matter by the competent authority.

    A similar order was also issued to advocate Arun Panwar, who is also a panel counsel of Delhi government.

    Earlier, Raj Niwas officials had said the proposal of the Excise Commissioner to submit the report of the committee — set up on the orders of the Delhi High Court regarding conforming and non-conforming wards — to the court was moved for LG’s approval on August 18, 2022.

    However, it was stalled by the then minister twice, officials had said.

    “All this while the government kept telling on record in HC, that the report was pending with LG. It prompted the court to request the LG thrice to clear the file for submission of the report expeditiously, despite the fact that the file was not with LG.

    “The proposal was cleared by Atishi (Delhi minister) who sent it for further recommendation to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who cleared it on January 16 this year and sent it to LG,” an official had said.

    In a file noting to Kejriwal, Saxena noted that the file relating to the approval of the report was received at the LG Secretariat on January 16 this year — after a lapse of one year and five months since it was first moved for LG’s approval on August 18, 2022, the official had said.

    Saxena had noted in the file that the case is a “sad reflection on the manner in which the state government counsels made false and misleading statements” before the court, showing the Lieutenant Governor and his office in poor light in the eyes of the court.

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