Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor (LG) VK Saxena has terminated the services of around 400 private employees working for the Delhi Government across various departments. In response, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced that it will challenge the decision in court.
The LG’s decision to terminate the services of these private employees was based on the grounds that their engagement was non-transparent and lacked the necessary approval from the competent authority. However, the Delhi government has strongly criticized the decision, accusing the LG of attempting to destroy the city and alleging that he is acting illegally and against the Constitution.
The AAP government further claimed that the termination of these employees was done without following any principles of natural justice. No show cause notices were issued, and no explanations or clarifications were sought at any stage of the process. As a result, the government plans to challenge this unconstitutional decision in court.
The statement from the Delhi government emphasized that the terminated employees were highly talented professionals from top institutions such as IIM Ahmedabad, Delhi School of Economics, NALSAR, JNU, NIT, London School of Economics, and Cambridge. It asserted that they were hired following due process and administrative norms and were doing excellent work in their respective departments.
On the other hand, the Services Department, responsible for overseeing the engagement of private individuals in government departments, found multiple irregularities in the appointments. It argued that the appointments did not adhere to the mandatory reservation policy for SC/ST/OBC candidates and that many individuals did not meet the educational qualification and work experience criteria outlined in the job advertisements. The department also discovered instances where work experience certificates provided by the individuals were fabricated.
As a result, the Lieutenant Governor accepted the proposal from the Services Department to terminate the engagements of these private individuals across all Delhi government departments, corporations, boards, societies, and other autonomous bodies. However, the department did mention that if any administrative department deems it necessary to continue these engagements, they may propose detailed cases with proper justifications for the Lieutenant Governor’s consideration and approval.
It is worth noting that the Services Department reviewed information from 23 departments that had engaged these private individuals as specialists and found that reservation policies for SC/ST/OBC candidates, as prescribed by the Department of Personnel and Training, were not followed in these appointments.
Both sides have presented their arguments and perspectives on the issue. The Delhi government believes the termination is unjust and illegal, while the Services Department claims that irregularities were identified in the engagement process. With the AAP government planning to challenge the decision in court, only time will tell how this matter unfolds and whether it will have any implications for the functioning of the Delhi government.
