Today, On 18th October, The Delhi High Court sought a response from the Speaker regarding former MLA Kartar Singh Tanwar’s petition challenging his disqualification. Tanwar, who disqualified under anti-defection laws, is contesting the decision in court. The High Court now directed the Speaker to provide an official reply.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court, on Friday, issued a notice regarding the plea filed by former AAP MLA Kartar Singh Tanwar, who contesting his disqualification from the Delhi Legislative Assembly.
Justice Sanjeev Narula sought responses from both the Speaker of the Delhi Legislative Assembly and Dilip Kumar Pandey.
The court scheduled the next hearing for December 9.
Senior advocate Jayant Mehta, along with Satya Ranjan Swain, represented Tanwar in court.
Tanwar, who disqualified by the Speaker on September 24, 2024, filed a petition challenging this decision and is seeking to have the disqualification order overturned. The petition has been filed by Advocates Neeraj and Satya Ranjan Swain.
The petitioner has argued that the disqualification order was issued hastily, without giving him an opportunity for a personal hearing. Furthermore, the order has been described as “cryptic and non-speaking.” Kartar Singh Tanwar seeking to have the disqualification order, dated 24.09.2024, set aside.
Tanwar, a two-term MLA from the Chhatarpur constituency, contested the 2020 Delhi Legislative Assembly elections on an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ticket. After being elected on 08.02.2020, he took his oath as a member of the Delhi Legislative Assembly on 24.02.2020.
The petition stated that after receiving the disqualification petition filed by Respondent Dilip Kumar Pandey, the Speaker of the Delhi Assembly issued a notice on 07.08.2024, directing the petitioner, Kartar Singh Tanwar, to submit his response by 5:00 PM on 19.08.2024. It alleged that Tanwar had joined the BJP without resigning from AAP, and several newspapers in July 2024 reported this development.
The Speaker initially scheduled a personal hearing for 03:00 PM on 21.08.2024 at the Speaker’s office, according to the plea. A notice dated 16.08.2024 postponed the hearing until further notice, though Tanwar still required to attend the personal hearing on 21.08.2024.
In his reply dated 03.09.2024, Tanwar denied all allegations, claiming they were “false, incorrect, and far from the truth,” the petition added.
The petition further stated that the petitioner received another notice dated 17.09.2024, directing him to appear in person on 20.09.2024 at 4:30 PM at the office of the Speaker, Delhi Legislative Assembly, to justify his stance. On 20.09.2024, the petitioner submitted a letter to the Deputy Secretary, requesting a two-week adjournment due to his hospitalization and low blood pressure, according to the plea.
The petitioner claimed that doctors had advised him to avoid physical activity. Despite this, the Speaker, in a letter dated 20.09.2024, directed the petitioner to appear on 24.09.2024, despite knowing he was under heavy medication.
The petitioner responded, explaining that while he had been discharged from the hospital, doctors had advised against any physical exertion, as it could lead to exhaustion and undue stress. He enclosed a medical prescription from Max Hospital and sought an additional two weeks to appear.
However, the Speaker disregarded his request and passed the disqualification order on 24.09.2024, the petitioner asserted.