NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 15: The Centre on Wednesday informed the Delhi High Court that it had set December 31 as the deadline for four former Prime Ministers to pay up Rs 13.57 crore due from them for using IAF aircraft for personal purposes failing which legal action will be initiated.Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S B Jaisinghani told a division bench comprising Justices Arun Kumar and D K Jain that the Government in a recent meeting with the leaders of political parties, to which the former premiers belonged, made it clear that the payment should be cleared as per the norms and conditions by December 31.The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking recovery of the dues from late premier Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Ministers Chandrashekhar, P V Narasimha Rao and H D Deve Gowda. The PIL by advocate B L Wadhera had alleged that Rs 5.92 crore were due from chandrashekhar, Rs 5.52 crore from Rao, Rs 1.86 crore from Gandhi and Rs 26.46 lakh from Gowda.Jaisinghani and counsel Rakesh Tiku, representing the Defence Ministry, submitted that Congress had sought concession in the billing saying the party was finding it difficult to clear the payment on account of use of the aircraft by Gandhi and Narasimha Rao, while Chandrashekhar's Samajwadi Janata Party had expressed its inability to make the payment claiming it had no funds.They said bills regarding the pending dues had already been sent to the concerned political parties.The court declined the ASG's request to issue notices to the ``defaulters'' saying it would see after December 31 what was the progress and what legal action could be taken.Jaisinghani, during the last hearing on the course of action, had informed the court that the Government might file suit for recovery against the ``defaulters''. The court had in March issued notices to Ministries of Defence and Finance and the Chief of Air Staff directing them to file status report about the expenditure on use of IAF planes by Prime Ministers when they were on unofficial tours.The Government, in its affidavit, had said the figures regarding the pending payment against the four former premiers was not disputed by the Government.Besides the Defence and Finance Ministries, the Chief of Air Staff and the four former Prime Ministers, the petitioner had also named Sonia Gandhi, legal heir of the late Rajiv Gandhi, as respondents.The petitioner said since the Government had failed to recover the money during all these years, the court should issue direction to the Ministeries concerned to take immediate steps to realise the outstanding amount with interest.
