Plea for sacking Kalmadi to come up in court Wednesday

NEW DELHI - The Delhi High Court Wednesday will hear a petition seeking removal of Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi over alleged irregularities in preparations for the just concluded sporting event.

The petition filed by lawyer Ajay Aggarwal Sep 29 demanded an independent audit of the works and sealing of records pertaining to tenders, work measurements and expenses above Rs.1 lakh related to the Games.

He also demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into alleged irregularities in the multi-million rupee deals for the Games preparations.

Besides Kalmadi, the petitioner has made the cabinet secretary, youth affairs and sports secretary and the CBI as respondents.

On Wednesday, the matter is likely to come up before a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Manmohan.

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 and remove letters from competing suppliers,” the petition said.

The petition said that the scale of corruption, the status of those involved and their political links called for intervention by the highest judicial body in the land.

Another PIL alleging corruption in the Commonwealth Games filed by lawyer Arun Bhatia is also likely to be taken up by the court Wednesday.