"Better hold your hands," Delhi HC pulls up CAG for auditing Ajmer Sharif Dargah

Better hold your hands, Delhi HC pulls up CAG for auditing Ajmer Sharif Dargah
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By -  Jayanti Pahwa |
2 May 2025 3:35 PM IST
The petition, filed through Advocate Ashish Singh, also challenged the CAG’s act of visiting the Dargah’s office without prior notice and sought a restraint on the audit process. The plea described the audit as arbitrary, particularly because the Centre already exercised control over the Dargah’s assets and funds

The Delhi High Court, recently, expressed its inclination to stay the Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) order to audit the accounts of Ajmer Sharif Dargah, citing procedural lapses. The court granted time to the CAG until May 7 to clarify whether it would stay its own decision.

The bench, presided over by Justice Sachin Datta, was hearing a petition filed by Anjuman Moinia Fakhira Chistiya Khuddam Khwaja Sahib Syedzagdan Dargah Sharif, Ajmer. The petition challenged the CAG’s order to audit the Dargah’s accounts for a five-year period, from 2022–23 to 2026–27.

The Dargah’s counsel, Advocate Atul Agarwal, sought an expedited hearing and informed the court that a three-member audit team had already been constituted without serving the terms of an audit or obtaining presidential assent. He argued that the decision contravened Section 20 of the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Act, 1971. The section required that audit terms be served to the concerned institution and allowed the institution to file a representation before the ministry concerned.

Agarwal further submitted that the Centre attempted to pre-empt the Dargah’s pending petition—challenging the Ministry of Minority Affairs’ decision dated March 15, 2024—by relying on a January 30 communication from the Union Finance Ministry, which entrusted the audit to the CAG.

The court questioned the CAG’s counsel, Advocate Pavan Duggal, about whether the audit had commenced. Justice Datta observed that the Dargah had a right to make a representation against the audit, but such an opportunity had not yet arisen, as the CAG had failed to serve the necessary order outlining the audit terms. The judge remarked that he was inclined to stay the audit and urged the CAG to clarify its position.

“You better clarify your stand and take instructions on what you’re doing. You better hold your hands”, the bench told Advocate Duggal. He further noted, “The petitioner’s point is very clear. He says he has a right to make representation, but that occasion has not arisen because you have not served him even with the order.”

The court directed the CAG to inform whether it would stay the audit order and advance the date of the hearing to May 7, instead of the earlier scheduled May 20.

[Inputs: Hindustan Times]

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