Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia approved the appointment on a retainership of Rs 1 crore and appearance fee per court visit of Rs 22 lakh
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi is facing criticism from all quarters after it came to light that the state government is paying whopping legal bills incurred by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his party leaders in their battle with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely.
After state cabinet ministers recommended the name of Ram Jethmalani, one of India's highest paid lawyers, as counsel in the defamation case filed by the latter, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia approved the appointment on a retainership of Rs 1 crore and appearance fee per court visit of Rs 22 lakh.
Kejriwal and other AAP leaders, who are not part of the government, are fighting the Rs 10 crore defamation case filed in 2015 by Jaitley in his individual capacity for dragging his and his family members' names in various platform, including social media, over alleged irregularities in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), of which Jaitley was the president for about 13 years till 2013.
As per documents accessed by DNA, Sisodia, who also handles the Law portfolio, while recommending Jethmalani's appointment had noted on December 6, 2016, that "after the office of the CM was raided by the CBI on December 15, 2015, several files and documents were seized.
On December 7, 2016, the litigation branch of the law department sent a note detailing the terms of engagement under retainership.
It also marked it for the approval of the minister in charge of the department (Sisodia), the finance department and the Lieutenant Governor.
On December 21 last year, Sisodia wrote that "in view of the detailed order dated 21/12/16…this file need not be sent to the Hon'ble Lt Governor for his approval". The Deputy CM further directed that "payments of bills may be made as and when the bills are received from the counsel….GAD (General Administration Department) shall ensure compliance of these directions at the earliest, preferably within a day".
The senior lawyer has so far made 14 appearances at the Patiala House Court and the Delhi High Court and is owed around Rs 4 crore. The bill from Jethmalani's office reached GAD minister Gopal Rai, who forwarded it to his department, but the bureaucracy, which saw the amount, sent it to the Lieutenant Governor's office, saying it is a private battle involving AAP leaders.
The matter also came before Sisodia who argued that the case has its genesis on a raid by the CBI on Rajendra Kumar, the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister in late 2015, and hence, the bill should be released.
Thereafter, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal had sought legal opinion over the issue with Jethmalani and said he has to wait to get paid for services rendered.
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