Government to place stand in Delhi high court on discoms' audit

NEW DELHI: A day before Arvind Kejriwal takes oath as chief minister, the state government has to place its stand on audit of discoms before Delhi high court. The court is hearing a plea by discoms challenging Kejriwal's 2013 decision to order audit by Comptroller & Auditor General of India ( CAG).

On Wednesday, jittery government officials began a hunt to rope in a heavyweight lawyer to present its case on Friday. Sources said the government is thinking of approaching former Solicitor General Gopal Subhramanium or senior advocate Jayant Bhushan to argue its stand.

After hearing the discoms, the court has sought to know the stand of Delhi government and why it supports a CAG audit. For majority of the hearings, the state government has relied on its standing counsel Zubeda Begum. While on the last hearing Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared, the main arguments of the government are yet to be put across to the bench.

"Once the new cabinet assumes office, CAG audit and related legal proceedings will be top priority. It is important we are well prepared for the next hearing as our approach over the past year may be up for scrutiny," an official said.

Ever since it ordered a CAG audit, AAP has been targeted by the discoms in court. The discoms claimed AAP pre-decided their audit, violating statutory and constitutional provisions to fulfill a poll promise.

The court is hearing a batch of petitions, including appeals filed by the three discoms, against the order of a single judge refusing to stay Delhi government's decision to have CAG audit their accounts.

HC upheld the jurisdiction of CAG in auditing private companies since they are in a revenue sharing arrangement with the government.