The Delhi Assembly Secretariat has informed the Delhi High Court that tabling the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports on city administration would serve no useful purpose as the assembly’s tenure is set to expire in February 2025. This statement came in response to a plea by seven BJP MLAs who are pushing for the reports to be presented in the assembly.
According to the secretariat, the current assembly held its last session on December 4, 2024, leaving insufficient time for the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to review and examine the CAG reports before the term concludes. The secretariat emphasized that any meaningful examination would be better conducted by the successor PAC, which will be formed following the upcoming elections.
The secretariat defended the speaker’s discretion to summon or not summon a legislative sitting, noting that such decisions are part of the assembly’s internal functioning and beyond judicial review. They also stated that the future PAC could examine the reports as per the existing legal framework once a new assembly is constituted.
Contrastingly, the Lieutenant Governor (LG) has argued that the High Court does possess the authority to direct the speaker to ensure the reports are tabled promptly. The LG highlighted an “extraordinary delay” in presenting these audit reports, asserting that the citizens of Delhi have a right to access the CAG findings through their representatives in the assembly.
The LG has urged the court to compel the Chief Minister and the Speaker of the Delhi Legislative Assembly to consult and potentially reconvene the house to table and distribute the CAG reports among its members.
Opposition leader Vijender Gupta and other BJP MLAs initiated the petition, citing a previous court order and the assembly’s failure to act on the CAG reports. In response, the High Court issued notices and considered directing the assembly to summon a special sitting to handle the matter.
