Delh

Officers should pay own legal fees, Assembly resolves

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Officers who challenge decisions of House should “bear the litigation expenses” instead of State exchequer

Officers who move court against decisions of the Delhi Assembly and its committees should pay their own legal fees, a resolution adopted by the House on Friday said.

The resolution said officers who challenged decisions of the House, the committees and the Speaker should “bear the litigation expenses”, instead of the State exchequer.

The resolution also condemned the officers for “acts of misinformation and misrepresentation before courts and the media”.

The resolution noted that there had been a trend of officers challenging the “powers, privileges and procedure” of the Assembly.

Speaker Ram Niwas Goel said the Delhi Assembly had spent ₹39.48 lakh on legal fees to fight cases against it filed by officers in the past year and payment of ₹20 lakh was still pending.

Among the more recent cases fought by the Assembly was Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash’s plea in the High Court against appearing before a House committee.

Also on Friday, the Assembly set up a five-member committee chaired by Aam Aadmi Party MLA Somnath Bharti to find a solution to problems arising from stray dog and monkey population in the city.