Delhi govt withdraws all cases from Vigilance officer probing Kejriwal's house renovation

The Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi has sent a notice to Special Secretary (Vigilance) YVVJ Rajshekhar, who is probing the alleged corruption in the renovation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence, withdrawing all the cases from him. Vigilance Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on May 13 ordered the withdrawal of all work assigned to Rajshekhar with immediate effect, citing complaints of "running an extortion racket and demanding protection money" against the concerned officer. 

In his reply, Rajshekhar wrote to his superiors to explain that he was being "prevented from performing his duties" and that he had discovered a "serious threat and diversion of records" dealing with sensitive matters like the excise policy and the renovation of the Chief Minister's residence. In addition, he requested the matter to be taken for the High Court to issue a stay.

It is pertinent to mention that the BJP has been attacking the Delhi CM, alleging a "scam" in the renovation of his official residence at a cost of Rs 45 crore. The saffron party has alleged that expenditure under various heads was deliberately kept below Rs 10 crore to bypass the Lieutenant Governor's scrutiny. 

Prevented from performing duties: Vigilance Officer

The Vigilance officer emphasized the importance of performing his duties objectively and dispassionately in accordance with the rule of law and documented records. He stated that vigilance inquiries are conducted in accordance with the protocols and manuals prepared by the Central Vigilance Commission and that there is no room for subjectivity in such cases. He compared the process to mathematics and stated that the case is filtered through a due process established by law.

"It is just like Mathematics and there is no scope for subjectivity while dealing with such cases as this case is filtered through due process as established by Law," he said.

"The undersigned is being prevented from performing the duties and I apprehend serious threat and diversions of records pertaining to sensitive matters like Excise matter, 6 Flag Staff Road, Civil Lines, DIP etc. It is requested that this matter may be brought to the notice of the High Court to stay the order issued by the minister (Vigilance) vide his note dated 13.05.2023," the officer added.

Speaking about the order, Rajshekar said, "This kind of restraint to perform the duties amounts to indirectly transferring the undersigned from this Department which is nothing but subverting the decision of the Supreme Court dated 31.10.2013 wherein the officer can be transferred only through the deliberation of the Civil Services Board."

Notably, this comes in the wake of CM Arvind Kejriwal announcing last week about a major bureaucratic reshuffle in the coming days and warning action against officers who "create hurdles" in public work. 

(With inputs from agencies)