The report highlighted that five Ministers, including Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, have declared criminal cases against themselves. Among them, one Minister, Ashish Sood, faces serious criminal charges. File | Photo Credit: X/@adrspeaks

“Five out of seven newly sworn-in Ministers in Delhi have declared criminal cases against themselves, while two are billionaires,” according to poll rights body Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

The findings are based on the self-sworn affidavits submitted by the Ministers ahead of the 2025 Delhi Assembly Elections.

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According to the analysis by the ADR, five out of seven Ministers (71%) have declared criminal cases against themselves, while two Ministers (29%) are billionaires.

The report highlighted that except Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Minister Ravinder Indraj Singh, all other Ministers have declared criminal cases against themselves. Among them, one Minister, Ashish Sood, faces serious criminal charges.

On the financial front, two Ministers, accounting for 29% of the Cabinet, are billionaires. The Minister with the highest declared total assets is Manjinder Singh Sirsa from Rajouri Garden constituency with assets worth ₹248.85 crore and the Minister with the lowest declared total assets is Kapil Mishra from Karawal Nagar constituency with assets worth ₹1.06 crore.

The average assets of the seven Ministers analysed stand at ₹56.03 crore. All seven Ministers have declared liabilities, with Parvesh Sahib Singh of the New Delhi constituency having the highest liabilities at ₹74.36 crore.

Six Ministers (86%) have declared educational qualifications of graduate level or above, while one Minister has completed only Class XII.

In terms of age, five Ministers (71%) are between 41 and 50 years old, while the remaining two (29%) are aged between 51 and 60 years. The Cabinet includes only one woman Minister which is the Chief Minister herself.

Based on a clarification issued by ADR, we have updated this article to correct an erroneous reference that Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was among the Ministers facing criminal cases. The error is regretted.

Published - February 20, 2025 05:20 pm IST