Court gives more time for report in Dikshit case

New Delhi  :  The anti-corruption branch of the Delhi government was Thursday granted more time by a Delhi court to file a fresh status report on a complaint an activist filed against Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and others.

Hearing a private complaint filed by advocate and Right to Information (RTI) activist Vivek Garg, Special Judge Sangita Dhingra Sehgal granted time till Nov 9 to the anti-corruption branch to file the report.

In his complaint, Garg alleged that Dikshit along with then transport minister Arvinder Singh Lovely and then transport commissioner R.K. Verma favoured a private company, ESP India, in a contract, causing losses to the public exchequer.

“During the course of inquiry…documents, sought from the transport department for reaching on concrete conclusion, are still awaited and the documents given so far are not enough to unearth the said conspiracy,” the corruption branch said.

Garg told the court that the accused bifurcated the process of issuing fitness certificates to commercial vehicles and awarded the contract for issuing the certificates to the private company. Earlier, it was the transport department alone that issued the certificates.

He requested the court to initiate proceedings against the accused under penal provisions for cheating, criminal conspiracy and various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

File Photo : AFP