The Delhi High Court on Monday sought response from LG office on a plea moved by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Jasmine Shah for restricting him from discharging his duties as vice-chairman of the DDCD (Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi). The matter was heard by a single-judge bench of Justice Yashwant Varma.
On November 21, Jasmin Shah moved to high court against LG decision, which also bars him from using “any privileges and facilities connected with the office of VC, DDCD, with an immediate effect”.
However, LG office found “sufficient evidence” Shah not only “accepted and performed” the role of a ‘Spokesperson of the AAP, but also recommended himself as “WE”, while identifying as a part of the Aam Admi party
The finding of the officials was sent to the Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar, who further suggested it to the Law Department, Delhi Government for its opinions.
“The Law Department gave its comprehensive opinion in this matter and suggested clearly that Shah was a ‘Public Servant’ and not operating on an ‘Honorary Post’,” the officials said.
The law department noted that the position of VC, DDC used to be an ‘Honorary Post’ till 2015, where after Kejriwal Government through ‘a Cabinet Decision reconstructed the DDC and categorically decided that VC, DDC shall be entitled to pay, allowances and other facilities that include a House and Office, amongst others, at par with Ministers of Delhi Government.
The Planning Department of the Delhi government, which is in charge of DDC, started an investigation and came out with an conclusion that Shah had been abusing his position and other advantages to advance an incredibly political motive, specifically in violation of the established rules, after consciously inspecting various video footages of his appearances on Television, the summary of press conferences at which he spoke, and the news reports in newspapers and news portals.
However, shah had responded to notice through a tweet stating that the power to remove him from the post remains with the CM only, the Delhi L-G has no jurisdiction over the office of the DDDC VC to fire him from the post.
