The Delhi High Court has asked the Centre and Delhi Police to respond to the petition alleging that more than 53,000 police officials were drawing cycle maintenance allowance “fraudulently” without actually using the mode of transportation. The division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad granted the authorities six weeks to respond to the petition and listed it for next hearing on September 20. Sanser Pal Singh, a lawyer by profession, in his PIL sought enquiry into the matter and departmental action against the officials. Citing the information received from the police under the RTI Act last year, Singh said more than 53,000 police officials of Delhi Police are “fraudulently” drawing the cycle (maintenance) allowance, and the complaints submitted by him in this regard have gone unheard. “The petitioner came to know from some persons known to him that an allowance of Rs 180 in the name of a cycle (maintenance) allowance, in addition to a travelling allowance, is being paid to the Delhi Police officials,” reads the petition, adding that it is a form of corruption if a public servant draws an allowance for the task which he does not perform. Singh said the cycle maintenance allowance costs the State more than Rs 11 crore per year and that such allowances are paid from the public money collected by the government from the hard-earned money of tax payers.
