New Delhi:
A Delhi court on Tuesday asked the Delhi Police to file status report on a complaint against Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Transport Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely for alleged corruption in grant of fitness certificate to commercial vehicles.
Special Judge Sangita Dhingra Sehgal directed the Anti-Corruption branch of Delhi Police to file its status report within six weeks detailing the steps it has taken on the complaint filed by RTI activist Vivek Garg.
Besides Ms Dikshit and Mr Lovely, the complaint also named former Transport Commissioner RK Verma and a company which was granted contract for lane tests of commercial vehicles, M/s ESP India.
Mr Garg, through his counsel Vivek Gupta, told the court that the Delhi government gave away the contract for lane test of commercial vehicles for fitness certificate to a private firm without inviting any tender.
"Due to corrupt and malafide intentions of the said ministers (Dikshit and Lovely), officer (RK Verma) and company (ESP India), no tender bid was called and the contract was given in contravention of the law," Mr Garg alleged in his complaint.
The complainant said, "I&C lane test is annually done of all commercial vehicles registered in Delhi. Vehicles which clear this test are given fitness certificates. Earlier the whole process was being done by the Transport Department but now the lane test is done by the said private company for Rs 400 per vehicle, which is not shared with the government.
"After the vehicle clears this test, Transport Department issues a fitness certificate for which a separate fees of Rs 100 is charged from each commercial vehicle."
The complainant told the court that the premises being used for the lane test by the company belongs to the Transport Department and the entire payment for machines and infrastructure is made by the government but the revenue generated by the private firm is not shared with the state.
The complainant sought the court's direction to lodge an FIR against Ms Dikshit, Mr Lovely, Mr Verma and the owner of M/s ESP India under various offences under Indian Penal Code including cheating, criminal breach of trust by a public servant, criminal conspiracy and punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life.
Earlier, in June, a magisterial court had also called for an action taken report on the complaint.
However, owing to issue of jurisdiction, the matter was then sent to the District Judge, who then marked it for the Special Court for anti-corruption cases.
In his complaint, Mr Gupta also said they should be charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
He has added that the private company (ESP India) "is not having even adequate and qualified engineers, which is keeping the lives of innocent citizen at the high risk. The same is also causing for massive accidents resulting in large number of casualties, injuries, etc."
The RTI activist also claimed, "Crimes of cheating, fraud, embezzlement, criminal breach of trust etc have been committed in awarding the contract to the private company for I&C Centre at VIU-Burari, Delhi which is worth over Rs 100 crores and is an ongoing scam."