Delhi govt-bureaucracy row: Notice to Chief Secy only adds fuel to fire, says HC

This comes at a time when Prakash is at the heart of a tussle between the bureaucrats and the AAP government. (File Photo)

The Delhi High Court on Monday observed that the Delhi government and bureaucracy should have made efforts to calm tempers and such notices to Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash to appear before the Committee of Privileges add fuel to fire. The court’s remark came after Prakash sought quashing of a notice issued to him for skipping a meeting called by the Question and Reference Committee of the Delhi Assembly, which is examining the alleged Rs 100 crore scam in the Delhi Nagrik Sehkari Bank.

The panel had on February 21 recommended privilege proceedings against the Chief Secretary for contempt of House after he skipped the meeting, two days after Prakash was allegedly assaulted at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence. Prakash first said he couldn’t attend the February 21 meeting due to a meeting at the PMO. When the committee asked him to appear at 5pm, Prakash cited health reasons and didn’t attend. Another notice was sent to him on February 23. On March 1, Prakash was summoned to appear before the Committee of Privileges on March 5.

“We have learnt that the CS has moved the High Court challenging the breach of privilege notice served to him by accusing us of arm-twisting him in a matter related to alleged attack on him. But he is hiding the fact that the meeting was related to rising NPAs,” PTI quoted AAP MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj, a member of the committee, as saying.

The Delhi Nagrik Sehkari Bank comes under the purview of the Delhi government’s Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RCS). In 2013, members of the bank had filed a complaint to the RCS and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) alleging fraudulent loans, leading to rising NPAs in connivance with the directors. A probe by the RBI confirmed fraudulent loans in the Lajpat Nagar branch of the bank.