MillenniumPost
Big Story

High Court reinstates 20 AAP MLAs in gigantic blow to EC

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Friday restored the legislatorship of 20 ruling party MLAs who were disqualified for holding offices-of-profit. Setting aside the order of the Election Commission, the High Court gave a major relief to the ruling party of Delhi but the verdict came as an embarrassment to the EC. The recommendation of the Election Commission followed the Presidential order for the disqualification of 20 MLAs. Quashing the order, the HC referred the case back to the poll panel for a fresh hearing.
A division bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Chander Shekhar said that the January 19 poll panel recommendation given to the President "is vitiated and bad in law for failure to comply with principles of natural justice". It said there was a "violation of natural justice and no oral hearing was given to the AAP MLAs before disqualifying them as legislators".
"The order of remand is passed to the Election Commission of India to hear arguments and thereafter decide all the important and seminal issues, like what is meant by expression office-of-profit held under the government," the court said.
It asked the EC to "re-examine the factual matrix to decide whether the petitioners (AAP MLAs) had incurred disqualification on appointment as parliamentary secretaries, without being influenced by the earlier order or observations on the said aspect in this order".
The judgement was read out by justice Sanjiv Khanna in a jam-packed courtroom, after which the jubilant AAP MLAs, who were present there, congratulated each other. "The truth has triumphed. The people whom Delhi had voted as their representatives were wrongly disqualified," tweeted party chief Arvind Kejriwal after the Delhi HC verdict.
The MLAs, who were appointed parliamentary secretaries, had challenged their disqualification for holding office-of-profit. The court had reserved its judgment on February 28 after the MLAs and the Election Commission concluded their arguments. See P3
Next Story
Share it