Delhi government to challenge termination of 400 employees by Lieutenant Governor

New Delhi: After Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena terminated the services of approximately 400 private individuals employed in various departments of the Delhi Government, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government announced on Monday that they would be taking the matter to court.

The termination of these individuals was justified by Lt Governor Saxena on the grounds that their engagement was non-transparent and lacked the necessary approval from the competent authority. However, the Delhi government strongly criticised the move, accusing the Lieutenant Governor of deliberately sabotaging the city, reported ANI. "The LG is hell-bent on completely destroying Delhi. He chose to punish these 400 talented young professionals only because they chose to associate with the Delhi government. No principles of natural justice were followed when the LG took this decision," said the Delhi government.

The statement further highlighted the lack of due process, pointing out that no show-cause notices were issued, and no explanations or clarifications were sought at any stage. The government vowed to challenge this unconstitutional decision in court, asserting that the Lieutenant Governor does not possess the power to terminate these employees in such a manner.

The Delhi government also defended the capabilities of the terminated individuals, emphasising their qualifications and the institutions they hailed from. "These fellows were from top colleges and universities such as IIM Ahmedabad, Delhi School of Economics, NALSAR, JNU, NIT, London School of Economics, Cambridge, etc., and were doing excellent work in various departments. They were all hired following due process and administrative norms."

On the other hand, the Lieutenant Governor's office claimed that the appointments violated the mandatory reservation policy for SC/ST/OBC candidates prescribed by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). The Services Department discovered that many of the engaged private individuals did not meet the educational qualification and work experience criteria outlined in the advertisements for the posts. The veracity of their work experience certificates was not adequately verified by the administrative departments, with several cases of manipulation and falsification.

The Lieutenant Governor accepted the Services Department's proposal to terminate the engagements of these private persons across all Delhi Government Departments, Corporations, Boards, Societies, and other autonomous bodies under their control, where the Lieutenant Governor's or the competent authority's approval was not obtained. However, if any administrative department deems it necessary to continue such engagements, they can propose detailed cases with proper justification to the Services Department, which will then forward them to the Lieutenant Governor for consideration and approval.