'Strong Suspicion': Delhi Court Frames Corruption Charges Against Swati Maliwal, 3 Others Over 'Illegal Appointments' In DCW
Live LawA Delhi Court on Thursday framed corruption charges against Chairperson of Delhi Commission for Women Swati Maliwal and three others in a case alleging that they abused their official position and obtained pecuniary advantages by illegally appointing various acquaintances, including Aam Aadmi Party workers, in the women rights body between August 6, 2015 to August 1, 2016. Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh of Rouse Avenue Courts observed that a "strong suspicion" does arise against Maliwal, Promila Gupta, Sarika Chaudhary and Farheen Malick, adding that the facts disclose "prima facie sufficient material" to frame charges against them. "The above mentioned facts do create a strong suspicion that recruitments to various posts were made during the impugned tenure of the accused persons for different remunerations in arbitrary manner, violating all Rules & Regulations in which the near & dear ones were appointed and remunerations were given to them from public exchequer," the court said. The court said that even if assuming that DCW is an autonomous body even with respect to creation of post or prescribing the terms & conditions for recruitment and conditions of service, the prima facie charge under section 13 of PC Act would still be made out against the accused persons as it receives funds from the government and neither posts could have been created at whims & fancies of DCW nor recruitment of near and dear ones could have been made against the Rules.