The Delhi High Court Today (March 6th) overturned the suspension of seven BJP MLAs from the Legislative Assembly for disrupting Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena’s address at the commencement of the Budget session.
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NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court today overturned the suspension of seven Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs from the Delhi Legislative Assembly. The suspension had initially been enforced following disruptions caused by the MLAs during Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena‘s address at the commencement of the Budget session.
The legislators in question- Mohan Singh Bisht, Ajay Mahawar, O P Sharma, Abhay Verma, Anil Bajpai, Jitender Mahajan, and Vijender Gupta, had approached the court last month, challenging their suspension which was to last until the conclusion of the proceedings before the privileges committee.
In delivering the verdict, Justice Subramonium Prasad stated,
“The writ petitions are allowed, thereby enabling the reinstatement of the MLAs.”
The contention from the suspended members was that their prolonged suspension from the Assembly, pending the outcome of the privileges committee’s review, contravened the established rules. They argued that this action was an infringement of their rights as elected representatives.
On the other side, the Assembly authorities defended the suspension as a necessary measure, not aimed at suppressing dissent but as a form of “self-discipline” in response to what they described as a “series of misdemeanours” by the opposition members. They maintained that the action was taken to preserve the decorum and order of the legislative process.
The incident leading to the suspension occurred on February 15, when the BJP lawmakers repeatedly interrupted Lieutenant Governor Saxena’s speech, which outlined the achievements of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government. Following this disruption, AAP MLA Dilip Pandey proposed a resolution for their suspension, which was subsequently endorsed by Speaker Ram Niwas Goel and led to the referral of the matter to the privileges committee.
Except for the Leader of Opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, the suspension barred all implicated BJP lawmakers from participating in the ongoing Assembly proceedings. This development came amidst an extended legislative session, which has been prolonged into the first week of March due to delays in finalizing the budget.
This ruling by the Delhi High Court marks a critical point in the ongoing tussle between the ruling AAP and the opposition BJP in the capital’s political landscape. It underscores the judiciary’s role in maintaining the balance between legislative authority and the rights of individual assembly members. The decision is poised to have significant implications for legislative conduct and the functioning of democracy at the state level.
Click Here to Read Previous Reports of 7 BJP MLAs Suspended
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