New Delhi: Appointments “without required approvals”, no recruitment rules, money released to bogus entities in the name of “secret service fund” and “snooping” — this is what the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) found in its preliminary inquiry into the functioning of the Feedback Unit (FBU) created in the Directorate of Vigilance in 2015 by the AAP-led Delhi government.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Wednesday gave sanction to prosecute Delhi deputy chief minister and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia under the Prevention of Corruption Act in connection with the case.
Delhi Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) Vinai Kumar Saxena had approved the CBI’s request for prosecution sanction against Sisodia, who is in charge of the Delhi vigilance department, and forwarded the same to the ministry.
Earlier this month, the CBI said that the FBU, apparently formed to check corruption, allegedly collected “political intelligence”.
On 4 November, 2016, the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch had received a complaint from S.K. Meena, deputy secretary in the vigilance department, alleging that the Delhi Cabinet had in September 2015 cleared the proposal for creation of an FBU without the required approvals, according to the FIR filed by the federal agency in the case.
The FBU was tasked to gather “relevant information and actionable feedback regarding the working of various departments and autonomous bodies, institutions and entities falling under the jurisdiction of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) and to do trap cases”, the CBI said.
CBI sources told ThePrint that no approval was sought for the creation of the unit or for the appointments made to it from the Delhi L-G, who is the competent authority for appointments in the GNCTD.
Besides, no “recruitment rules” were framed for the posts created, sources said.
“The proposal did not have the approval of the L-G. The proposal was initiated in haste without any actual urgency in the matter. The power to create posts under GNCTD has been detailed in the communications of the home ministry, which delegates powers for creation of all types of post under the GNCTD, but it was overlooked,” a source told ThePrint.
Moreover, the manner in which the advertisement, selection and appointments to posts in the FBU was done — without any notification of posts by the GNCTD — shows there was a criminal conspiracy, the source added.
The Delhi government as well as the AAP have called the allegations against Sisodia “completely bogus”.
Reacting to the development, Sisodia tweeted: “Filing false cases against competitors is the mark of a weak and cowardly person. As Aam Aadmi Party grows, many other cases will be filed.”
The deputy CM is already facing a CBI interrogation in a case related to alleged favours extended to liquor traders under the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. He has to appear before the probe agency on February 26.
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‘Funds misused’
According to the CBI sources, the FBU started functioning from February 2016 and Rs 1 crore was kept aside for “secret service expenditure”. This money, the sources said, was written off to bogus identities and fake invoices were generated.
A second source told ThePrint that two instances of payments were shown to have been made from the secret service fund to certain companies, and during investigation it was found that they were never given that money.
“The invoices showed that money from the secret service fund was given to one M/s Silver Shield Detectives and M/s WW Security. However, during inquiry it was revealed that the vouchers in lieu of disbursing the payments were fake. The owners of both firms denied doing any work for GNCTD or the FBU and denied receiving any payment. They stated that the vouchers made in their firm’s name were fabricated,” the source said.
“There is prima facie deliberate violation of rules and guidelines by delinquent public servants. The nature of violations committed is inherently dishonest and as such materials disclose abuse of official position with dishonest intention by public servants concerned, including Manish Sisodia, and others.”
‘Snooping’
CBI sources said that a rough analysis of the nature of reports generated by the FBU revealed that 60 per cent were related to vigilance matters, whereas political intelligence and other issues accounted for the rest.
It was also observed that no formal action was taken against any public servant or department, the sources said.
“A scrutiny of reports submitted by FBU officials between February 2016 and early September 2016 shows that a substantial number of reports were related not to actionable feedback or information on corruption in any department, institute, entity etc., under the GNCTD, but were related to political activities of persons, political entities and issues pertaining to the political interest of the AAP, BJP or (other parties) — which was beyond the scope and ambit of the FBU,” a third source told ThePrint.
This, the source said, shows the FBU was misused by public servants for purposes other than the one for which it was manifestly created.
“The FBU was not functioning in the manner and for the purpose approved by the Delhi Cabinet but was working for other hidden purposes which were not in the interest of the GNCTD, but were in the private interest of AAP and Manish Sisodia,” the source said.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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