The union home ministry does not have the power to declare as void the Delhi government's probe into an alleged CNG fitness scam, the city government said on Wednesday.
Replying to a letter by Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung, conveying the home ministry's view about the probe in the alleged multi-crore rupee scam, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the Delhi government was neither a "subordinate department" of the home ministry nor "accountable" to it.
"Under the constitution, the Ministry of Home Affairs does not have the powers to declare any order of Government of NCT of Delhi (GNCTD) as void," Sisodia said in the letter. "It is only the judiciary which has power to declare any order of GNCTD null and void," he added.
"Ministry of Home Affairs seems to be attempting to encroach the domain of judiciary, which is dangerous," Sisodia said in the letter.
A Central Bureau of Investigation probe had revealed irregularities in awarding the contract of operation and maintenance of inspection and certification of CNG vehicles -- thereby causing a loss of Rs.100 crore to the Delhi government.
