CAG auditing appointments in law department

THE DELHI government’s law department, which came under the Shunglu committee’s scanner, is now being audited for alleged irregularities in appointment of senior public prosecutors and special counsels, sources told The Sunday Express.

Government sources said the Comptroller and Auditor General is auditing the appointments, and their financial implications. This comes against the backdrop of a row over directions being issued to the Delhi government to pay the legal fees of advocate Ram Jethmalani, who is representing Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a defamation case filed against him by Union Minister Arun Jaitley.

Referring to appointments in the law department, the Shunglu committee report had observed: “The committee is quite amazed at a number of special counsels engaged, the terms of engagements... It would appear that there is need for a special audit with regard to legal expenditure in engagement of counsels, special counsels for period February 2015 and November 2016.”

Sources said the CAG might take the Shunglu committee report “as its base” and also conduct an independent audit.

“All documents available with the department and in the public view will get the CAG’S attention. The CAG will also consider the Shunglu report,” said a source.

According to sources, court proceedings require standing counsels, special counsels and senior counsels, among others. Ordinary standing counsels and additional standing counsels for civil litigation are appointed for courts by the Delhi government.

However, the Shunglu report had alleged, “The elected government decided not to follow these orders and appointed a large number of special counsels under civil procedure code on its own volition.”

“A large number of special counsels were appointed at the behest of secretary services and on authority of deputy CM and minister services without concurrence of departments of law and finance and without approval of L-G,” alleged the report.

The turf war between standing counsels appointed by the approval of the L-G and those by the AAP government also found mention in the Shunglu report.

The CAG may look into this, too, sources said.

A total of 46 files of appointment of standing counsels, allegedly without the L-G’S approval, were reviewed by the Shunglu committee. It mentioned that payment of fees had been done in a majority of the cases. Sources said that all these files and cases will be part of the audit.

When contacted, a senior official said, “CAG is conducting an audit; it is a regular exercise.”

Law Minister Manish Sisodia and his staff could not be contacted for a comment.