Want to withdraw my letter against judiciary: Speaker

NEW DELHI: Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel told the Delhi High Court on Thursday that he wished to withdraw his letter written to the acting Chief Justice in which he alleged that a division bench of the court had passed orders against the legislature without ascertaining facts.

The court asked the counsel, for Goel, to give a written request for withdrawing the letter, which is now being heard as a petition.

As the submission was made orally by the counsel for the Speaker, senior advocate Siddharth Luthra appearing for Delhi chief secretary MM Kutty and PWD principal secretary Ashwani Kumar, opposed it saying the letter was written by the Speaker. He also questioned the logic behind withdrawing the letter now as its contents were made available to the media.

A bench of Justice GS Sistani and V Kameshwar Rao, orally observed that if the letter was withdrawn then the issue ends, asked the Speaker’s lawyer to seek the instruction in writing.

The Speaker’s advocate submitted that the letter was between t wo constitutional authorities and should be treated as “unconditionally withdrawn”.

Goel’s letter alleged that a division bench of the court had passed orders against the legislature without ascertaining facts.

The speaker, who is AAP MLA from Shahdara, did not name the two officials. But, sources said, the reference is to petitions in high court filed by PWD principal secretary Ashwani Kumar and Delhi chief secretary MM Kutty.

Kumar approached court against “breach of privilege” proceedings initiated by the Assembly’s privilege committee. He got a stay from the court. Kutty also got a stay from the HC on a showcause notice issued by the Assembly’s “question and reference committee” for allegedly not following its directive to incorporate adverse remarks in the annual confidential report of a bureaucrat.