Delhi HC gives partial relief to 20 AAP MLAs in #OfficeOfProfit case
New Delhi, March 23: The Delhi High Court today pronounced its verdict in the case regarding the disqualification of 20 Aam Aadmi Party legislators on Friday. The court has set aside the Election Commission's recommendation to disqualify the 20 AAP MLAs in connection to the office of profit.
"Opinion of the Election Commission of India is vitiated and bad in law for failure to comply with the principles of natural justice,” court said. The court had reserved its judgment on February 28, after hearing arguments for several days.
The AAP MLAs had filed a plea seeking quashing of a notification issued by the President of India, that had disqualified 20 legislators. During the arguments, the MLAs had told the court that EC's order disqualifying them for allegedly holding offices of profit was passed in complete violation of natural justice as they were not given an opportunity to explain their stand before the poll panel.
In its opinion sent to President Ram Nath Kovind, the Election Commission said by being parliamentary secretaries, they held the office of profit and were liable to be disqualified as MLAs of the Delhi Assembly.
Delhi chief minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal had made the said appointments in March 2015, a month after forming his government in the national capital. For these appointments, his government had passed an amendment to the Delhi Members of Legislative Assembly (Removal of Disqualification) Act, 1997, in June 2015.
The MLAs who had been axed are Adarsh Shastri (Dwarka), Alka Lamba (Chandni Chowk), Anil Bajpai (Gandhi Nagar), Avtar Singh (Kalkaji), Kailash Gahlot (Najafgarh), Madan Lal (Kasturba Nagar), Manoj Kumar (Kondli), Naresh Yadav (Mehrauli), Nitin Tyagi (Laxmi Nagar), Praveen Kumar (Jangpura), Rajesh Gupta (Wazirpur), Rajesh Rishi Janakpuri), Sanjeev Jha (Burari), Sarita Singh (Rohtas Nagar), Som Dutt (Sadar Bazar), Sharad Kumar (Narela), Shiv Charan Goel (Moti Nagar), Sukhbir Singh (Mundka), Vijendar Garg (Rajinder Nagar) and Jarnail Singh (Tilak Nagar).