The Central Government on Friday given Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai political permission to travel to the United States of America to attend the Columbia India Energy Dialogue, which will be held in New York on September 18.
Minister Gopal Rai has filed an appeal with the Delhi High Court against a central government ruling refusing him permission to travel to New York for the Columbia India Energy Dialogue.
On Friday, the Bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad dismissed the petition, noting Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s testimony that political clearance has been granted for Rai’s travel from September 15 to September 21.
Gopal Rai had sought the Court’s immediate indulgence in stating that his official request to attend the program at the Columbia India Energy Dialogue, which is being held in New York, United States of America on September 18, had been denied vide order dated 12.09.2023 by assigning arbitrary and malafide reasons that since the Government official Suman Kumar Berry, Vice Chairman, NITI Ayog, (minister rank), is going to represent at the Dialogue, therefore visit from the Government is not required.
The plea also stated that the invitation is specific for different persons representing different stakeholders and does not intend to confine delegates at the national level only for the formal representation of the country, so the reason cited above is nothing more than a shady exercise of power and thus illegal in law.