The Delhi government’s principal secretary (law) AK Mendiratta, who was caught in a tussle with the state government over the prosecution sanction pertaining to the JNU sedition case, has been repatriated to his parent cadre of judicial services, government officials said on Sunday. Mendiratta was replaced by Sanjay Garg, principal judge in the Saket Family Courts, officials added.

The order regarding Mendiratta’s repatriation was cleared by the services department on Friday, officials said.

The principal secretary (law) post in the Delhi government is reserved for judicial officers serving district courts in the city, and appointments are made upon the recommendation of the Delhi High Court.

Last month, Mendiratta had informed Delhi law minister Kailash Gahlot that only the Lieutenant-Governor was the competent authority to undertake an independent assessment of the sedition case, to grant a prosecution sanction. HT had reported on the JNU sedition case file being transferred between two departments at least six times.

In January, Gahlot had issued a show cause notice to Mendiratta for allegedly bypassing him and reporting the law department’s preliminary opinion on the case to the home department.

Senior government officials, however, maintained that Mendiratta’s repatriation had nothing to do with the prosecution sanction with regard to the JNU case.

First Published: Apr 08, 2019 06:29 IST