The NCUI-NCCT matter was adjourned again for the fourth time on Friday in the Delhi High Court. “This time the lawyer representing the Ministry and NCCT said to the court that his father is critical and thus the date be extended.
The one-man bench postponed the matter for hearing after a fortnight that is on January 28. The Judge said to the NCUI Advocate that nothing can be done in such situation. NCUI’s lawyers Senior Advocate Harish Malhotra and Adv Om Prakash who wanted at least the beginning of the hearing to take place were disappointed with the adjournment, said an NCUI official.
Though NCUI Chief Executive N Satyanarayan and President PS Mr Ved Prakash were there in a show of moral support to their counsels, The NCCT Secretary or his deputies had not bothered to come. They had previous knowledge about the impending adjournment and thus they did not come”, said an official.
This being the fifth adjournment, the NCUI leaders have begun to feel that the Ministry is purposely postponing the hearing, given their weak legal standing in the case. Registered as a Society in its new avatar, NCCT has ceased to be a govt body anymore. It has also led to the stoppage of govt grant which has pushed it into a financial crisis.
Earlier, the hearing was postponed due to the promotion of central government standing counsel Sanjeev Narula as a High Court judge. NCCT’s newly appointed counsel was too new to grasp the matter so soon and pleaded for a future date.
In October 2018, the matter was postponed as the Bench found itself overburdened with cases. NCUI’s Advocates and officials had waited till 4.30 PM but to no avail.
It bears recall that NCUI had received a letter from Agriculture Ministry with the title “Establishing National Council of Cooperative Training (NCCT) as an independent, Central and Professional entity-delinking from National Cooperative Union of India”.
The letter said due to NCUI’s control, NCCT failed to achieve its aims. The reputation of its premier institute VAMNICOM also suffered due to intense politicking and mismanagement. These facts are vehemently opposed by the NCUI.
