Delhi High Court has issued a show cause notice to ACB chief M K Meena and asked him to explain why contempt proceedings be not initiated against him on AAP government’s plea alleging that he violated the court’s order by removing an SHO of the anti-graft body. It asked the Anti-Corruption Bureau(ACB) Chief to be present in court on August 4 to explain the allegation of Delhi government that SDM was not being permitted to deposit seized case property with ACB.

The court also issued notice to the Centre on this plea of the Delhi government which has also sought directions to ACB “to receive the complaint from the SDM, register an FIR and carry out investigation in accordance with law.”

The AAP government had yesterday moved the High Court seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against Meena, who had shunted out inspector Vinay Malik as SHO ACB, appointed by city government, and posted inspector Brij Mohan in his place. The petition claimed that Meena had purportedly scrapped the anti-corruption helpline number established with approval of Council of Ministers of the Delhi government and “posted personnel in the ACB despite not having authority to do so.”

The plea further alleged that Meena had “prevented the

receipt of the complaint sought to be submitted by SDM and the registration of an FIR thereupon, by orchestrating the removal of the FIR book and the ‘Roznamcha’ from the precincts of the ACB which is a police station under…CrPC and is wholly illegal Act”.

“Therefore, Meena is guilty of acting in brazen disregard and violation of the direction passed by this court. It is submitted that both the respondents have acted in willful and deliberate defiance and disregard of the judgement of the Supreme Court…And the order passed by this court on June 29, 2015, whereby Meena was required to function in accordance with law,” the petition said.

In a fresh salvo, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal  accused the Narendra Modi government of transferring two of his best officers out of the state.

The Delhi CM posted on micro-blogging site Twitter: “Without consulting elected government, Modi government transfers two of our best officers out of Del – VAT commissioner and Director Education.”

He added, “Sends one of them to Lakshdweep. Is this cooperative federalism?”

Kejriwal also said that this was getting too much. The latest controversy comes on the heels of the stand-off regarding the appointment of Swati Maliwal as chief of Delhi Commission for Women.

On July 27, Lt Governor Najeeb Jung approved the appointment of DCW chief, days after her ‘unilateral’ nomination by AAP government was struck down by him.

Jung gave the consent to appointment of 30-year-old Maliwal and three other members, hand-picked by Kejriwal, after the Delhi government sent him a fresh note heeding to his directive to follow the laid down process.

Jung had earlier returned the file pertaining to Maliwal’s appointment but had said that he would have no hesitation in clearing it if proper process is followed.

The Lt Governor had struck down her appointment, a day after she took charge of the Commission, asserting that ‘government’ in Delhi meant the LG and his consent for any such appointment was necessary.