City government’s former assistant legal adviser Manish Gaur, who was recently transferred to the education department for reportedly advising the AAP government against the wishes of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on the proposed new circle rates, has once again been transferred. This time, he has been posted to the services wing of the city administration.
Mr Gaur, who was earlier transferred to the education department on the directions of deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, has now been posted with the services wing. The officer, who had acted on the advice of his then principal secretary (law) R. Kiran Nath, had conveyed to the AAP government that the new circle rates could not be effected in the city without taking prior approval of lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung.
Even Ms Nath had opposed law minister Kapil Mishra’s move to issue circular stating that the city government means elected government and not the L-G and there was no need to send files to Mr Jung. She had also opposed the AAP government’s move pertaining to pending cases against politicians and had advised that some cases were criminal in nature and as such should not be withdrawn.
A source said that Mr Gaur’s advice had reportedly not gone well with Mr Kejriwal, who had directed that he be immediately transferred from the legal wing. But Ms Nath had reportedly refused to transfer Mr Gaur on the grounds that the officer had only followed her instructions on the proposed circle rates. This had further compounded the issue with Ms Nath herself getting transferred to the newly-created post of the OSD in the Delhi high court. The source said that Mr Gaur had noted in the file related to circle rates that the L-G’s approval was mandatory prior to the issuance of any notification. He had noted that “Article 239AA of the Constitution clearly states that the Legislative Assembly of Delhi shall not have power to make laws relating to subjects such as public order, police and land.” Also, Ms Nath had advised the AAP government that 1993 notification pertaining to definition of the government had been settled by the high court in several cases.
Mr Gaur’s noting had prompted the services department to immediately issue his transfer orders to the education wing. After his transfer, the legal department was left with only one assistant legal adviser, which is said to have affected the day-to-day functioning of the legal arm of the administration.
The AAP government has finally transferred the officer back to the legal wing to speed up the clearance of pending files. But the government has again taken a U-turn by transferring him to the services department.
