Even before the controversy surrounding the appointment of Swati Maliwal as the chairperson of DCW (Delhi Commission of Women) has faded , a new one has cropped up which can potentially embarrass the Aam Admi Party government in Delhi.

AAP government has roped in Kamal Malhotra as the Deputy Labour Commissioner, a news that has not gone down well with the officers in the department. According to Hindustan Times, the newly appointed officer has the dubious distinction of being fined by Union Government twice for alleged irregularities.

The transfer of Kamal Malhotra, an officer of the DANICS (Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Services) cadre, to the public dealing section has been roundly criticised and most believe he managed to land up with the plump post courtesy his closeness to Arvind Kejriwal.

He was earlier the deputy labour commissioner at department headquarters, which was an administrative profile.

Hindustan Times claims to have documents that affirms Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) - which controls the DANICS cadre - had penalised Malhotra on two occasions. A censure was issued to the officer in 2006 barring him from benefits like promotion for a year for allegedly sitting on an enquiry into a corruption case while he was posted in Daman and Diu.

In another instance, the MHA downgraded his service for five years in 2010 for giving a no objection certificate (NOC) to a builder within a day of application without following due procedure while he was the sub-divisional magistrate in northwest Delhi. A separate inquiry is pending against Malhotra for taking the salary hike despite not being authorised to it, reports the English daily.

A spokesperson of AAP government also admitted that charges against Malhotra were, infact, known but shortage of staff had led authorities to transfer him to a public dealing section.

Although a Delhi government official in the labour department didn't seem to agree. He told HT on condition of anonymity that the government claimed it would end corruption, but rather than doing that it is posting officials who have been penalised by MHA for irregularities. "The officer concerned is close to the CM’s office and, thus, has been given a plush posting,” the official was quoted in the report.

When Malhotra was approached, he said it had nothing to do with AAP or Arvind Kejriwal and it just was an administrative decision.