New Delhi: The Delhi High Court will on Wednesday hear fresh petitions filed by 20 AAP MLAs challenging the Centre's notification against their disqualification as legislators for holding an office of profit.
The fresh petitions, which were filed a day after their earlier pleas became infructuous on account of President giving his assent to the Election Commission's recommendation to disqualify them, said the decision by the President as well as the Election Commission (EC) were taken in "undue haste".
The MLAs, whose appointment to the post of Parliamentary Secretaries was held as an office of profit, contended that the entire episode leading to their disqualification was a clear manifestation of the process in which they were denied the principle of natural justice of being heard.
Their petitions were mentioned on Tuesday before a bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and A K Chawla, which listed them for hearing on Wednesday.
Advocate Manish Vashisht, appearing for five of the legislators, submitted that "the findings of the EC are contrary to Article 14 (equality before the law) of the Constitution of India, ultra vires, void ab initio and an attack on the basic fabric of democracy."
The move came after the AAP MLAs on Monday withdrew their pleas challenging the Election Commission's recommendation which had received Presidential assent.