The report dismissed as 'pure assumption' the ground on which Lokayukta Justice Manmohan Sarin in February had recommended to President Pratibha Patil to withdraw her pleasure for the Minister to continue in office.
Backing PWD Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan, Delhi government today sent a detailed report to the Union home ministry rejecting the Lokayukta's recommendation to sack him for alleged involvement in protecting a leading resort in a tax evasion case.
The report dismissed as "pure assumption" the ground on which Lokayukta Justice Manmohan Sarin in February had recommended to President Pratibha Patil to "withdraw her pleasure" for the Minister to continue in office.
"We have sent the report to Home ministry today. We have questioned the recommendation of the Lokayukta as we strongly feel the order was based on pure assumptions and conjectures. It was not based on facts," a top official of Delhi Government told PTI.
While the decision about Chauhan's fate lies with the President, the official said the government argued in its report that Lokayukta's order was not supported by facts and that nobody can be punished on basis of "whims and fancies" of somebody.
Last month, the Home ministry had directed the Delhi government to file a report on Chauhan's alleged involvement in protecting Tivoli Garden resort from a tax evasion case for which the Lokayukta had recommended his removal finding him guilty of misconduct of "grave nature".
Asked about the report, chief minister Sheila Dikshit only said, "We have given a detail sequence of events." She said Chauhan has also sent a communication to the Ministry.
Justice Sarin's order in late February had come in a case pertaining to Chauhan's alleged involvement in influencing a team of tax officials when they were carrying out a survey in the Tivoli Garden resort in South Delhi in February last year.
The Lokayukta order had said that "the Minister made a telephone call to the Commissioner of Trade of Taxes in the evening of February 20 last year when a team of tax officials were carrying search and survey at the premises of Tivoli Garden Resort to unearth huge evasion of taxes and concealment of income."
"In view of misconduct of such grave nature without any extenuating and mitigating circumstances, it is recommended to her Excellency, the President, that the Respondent (Minister) by his action has become disentitled to enjoy the pleasure of Her Excellency to hold office," Sarin said in the order.
In his defence, Chauhan said as public representative, he gets lots of calls from people requesting for favours and he only responded to such a call.
The government, in its report, is understood to have endorsed the Minister's stand but left it to the competent authority to take a final decision on the issue.
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