Delhi High Court reserves verdict on petition seeking tabling of CAG reports

The Delhi High Court on Thursday reserved its judgment on a petition demanding a special session of the Delhi Legislative Assembly to table 14 pending reports from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

Justice Sachin Datta reserved the verdict after hearing arguments from senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, representing the petitioners, and counsels appearing for the Delhi Government and the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.

The petition, filed by Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta, along with six BJP MLAs Mohan Singh Bisht, Om Prakash Sharma, Ajay Kumar Mahawar, Abhay Verma, Anil Kumar Bajpai, and Jitendra Mahajan, seeks directives to ensure the tabling of 14 CAG reports before the Assembly elections. In the previous hearing, the court expressed its displeasure over delays by the Delhi Government in presenting the CAG reports, terming the situation “unfortunate”.

Justice Datta noted that summoning a special Assembly session falls under the Speaker’s purview and questioned whether the court could mandate the Speaker to convene the session, especially with the elections approaching.

The petitioners added the urgency of the reports being tabled before the Legislative Assembly, arguing that the delay violates transparency and accountability principles.

The plea demanded the Delhi Government to promptly forward the 14 CAG reports to the Speaker, followed by a special session to table them within a specific timeframe. The petitioners highlighted that during a December 16, 2024, court hearing, the Delhi Government assured that the reports would be sent to the Speaker within two to three days. However, as of December 12, 2024, the reports had not been received, breaching the government’s assurance to the court.