New Delhi: Former director general of DGHS Dr Vatsala Aggarwal, who has been arrested in the DGHS medical procurement scam, has claimed in her latest regular bail plea that she had merely approved decisions taken by Central Procurement Agency (CPA) and there was “no iota of connivance” on her part in the chargesheet filed on Sept 16.
Special judge Vidya Prakash listed the matter for Oct 17.
“At its best, prosecution can say that she was negligent in her conduct, but she was nothing more than an approver, who trusted the decision of the agency,” the counsel said. Orally noting that CPA was under DGHS’ purview, Prakash also said, “How can she be only approving everything, including single bidder? Aggarwal’s counsel submitted that, as director of Directorate General of Health Services, her role was limited to approving tenders forwarded by CPA. Did she not apply her own mind? It alleged that the entire tender process favouring Rajiv Kumar alias Rajiv Rangeela’s company was completed in a single day. Senior additional public prosecutor Kumar Sanjay submitted that all stages required under the Govt e-Marketplace rules, including publication, submission and evaluation of bids, determination of the eligible bidder and award of the contract, were completed with unusual haste to favour a single bidder.