Plea to remove Kalmadi to come up in court Oct 20
By IANSWednesday, September 29, 2010
NEW DELHI - The Delhi High Court Wednesday fixed Oct 20 for hearing a petition seeking removal of Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi over alleged irregularities in preparations for the mega sporting event.
The petition filed by lawyer Ajay Aggarwal demanded an independent audit of the works and sealing of records pertaining to tenders, work measurements and expenses above Rs.1 lakh.
Besides Kalmadi, the petition has made the cabinet secretary, youth affairs and sports secretary and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as respondents.
Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Manmohan fixed Oct 20 for hearing the petition.
The petition demanded that a physical audit of the works should be conducted by an independent agency.
“Work measurements and a check on compliance with contracted specifications should be done by private engineers and not those who have retired or are in government employment,” the petition said.
“Due process of law has been blocked by retaining the accused committee even in the face of strong prima facie evidence. Honest and thorough investigation will be impossible while maintaining the same management in power,” said the petition.
“Today, after the disclosures, we are giving the committee and the chairman ample space and opportunity to doctor records, replace papers, change file notes, remove letters from competing suppliers,” the petition said.
The petition said that the scale of corruption, the status of those involved and their political linkages called for intervention by the highest judicial body in the land.
“In the absence of urgent specific directions from the court, we will not only hamper investigations, but also advertise to the world the invincibility of corrupt public functionaries,” the petition said.
The OC has been accused of irregularities, lack of infrastructure and delay in preparations for the Games, the petition said.
The petitioner demanded a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in multi-million rupee deals for the Games’ preparations.
