Today (February 27), the Delhi High Court reserved its order regarding the petitions filed by seven BJP MLAs contesting their indefinite suspension from the legislative assembly. Their suspension stemmed from disruptions during 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 reserved its order on the pleas by seven BJP MLAs challenging their indefinite suspension from the legislative assembly for interrupting Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena’s address at the start of the budget session.
Justice Subramonium Prasad asked the parties to file short written submissions, if any, within two days.
The court was hearing petitions by the BJP MLAs- Mohan Singh Bisht, Ajay Mahawar, O P Sharma, Abhay Verma, Anil Bajpai, Jitender Mahajan and Vijender Gupta, challenging their indefinite suspension from the assembly till the conclusion of the proceedings before the privileges committee.
Previously, the court had instructed the privileges committee of the Delhi Assembly to halt its actions against the suspended MLAs until the matter was resolved.
Represented by senior advocate Jayant Mehta, the MLAs argued that their suspension until the privileges committee concluded its proceedings was contrary to the applicable regulations.
Assurances were provided by the assembly authorities to the court that the indefinite suspension of the MLAs was not an effort to suppress dissent within the House, and the privileges committee would expedite its proceedings against them.
Senior advocate Sudhir Nandrajog, representing the Delhi Assembly, asserted that the suspension served as a “self-discipline” measure in response to a “series of misdemeanors” committed by the opposition legislators.
He opposed the petitions, arguing that the House possessed discretion in matters concerning the preservation of its dignity. Additionally, he suggested that when the petitioners had sent a letter of apology to the LG, they could have also addressed a similar apology letter to the House for their disruptive behavior.
The BJP lawmakers had interrupted Saxena multiple times during his address on February 15 as he highlighted the achievements of the AAP government, while they attacked the Arvind Kejriwal government on a range of issues.
AAP MLA Dilip Pandey had subsequently moved a resolution in the House for their suspension which was accepted by Speaker Ram Niwas Goel, who also referred the issue to the privileges committee.
Barring Leader of the Opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, all other BJP lawmakers in the assembly were barred from attending the proceedings.
The session has been extended till the first week of March due to a delay in budget finalisation.
The petitions by the MLAs said their suspension violates Article 19(1)(a) (right to freedom of speech and expression) of the Constitution of India and the rights and privileges of the MLAs as well as the principle of “proportionality” and “rationality”.
“The Order of the Hon’ble Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of NCT of Delhi is unconstitutional, unjust, unfair and, in any event, selective and grossly disproportionate. It violates the fundamental and constitutional rights of the Petitioners,”
-the petition filed through advocate Satya Ranjan Swain on behalf of Mahawar, Gupta and Bajpai said.
The plea highlighted that the budget is the last full budget before the assembly elections in 2025 and therefore the presence of the opposition members was of utmost importance.
PREVIOUS REPORTS ON THE CASE
Delhi High Court | Dissent Unaffected by BJP MLAs Suspension from Assembly
Delhi High Court Asks Suspended BJP MLA’s: Will You Apologize to LG?
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