Delhi HC slams petitioner who sought sacking of Arvind Kejriwal from CM post, says it was filed for ‘publicity
The Delhi High Court dismissed a petition seeking the removal of Arvind Kejriwal as Chief Minister of Delhi, marking the third such rejection by the court. A former AAP MLA Sandeep Kumar had filed the petition.
FollowThe Delhi High Court on Monday (April 8) reprimanded a former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA who approached the Court seeking instructions to remove Arvind Kejriwal as Chief Minister (CM) of Delhi after his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy scam. The petitioner, Sandeep Kumar, came under fire from Justice Subramaniam Prasad for bringing up the argument even though the High Court had previously denied two other similar petitions.
"Heavy costs should be imposed on you," the Court remarked.
The single judge remarked that similar matters had been heard and dismissed by the bench of acting Chief Justice Manmohan, characterizing the present plea as nothing more than a publicity-driven petition. Consequently, the case was transferred to the bench of the acting Chief Justice, as that bench had previously dealt with similar petitions. This marks the third instance in which the High Court has rejected pleas to remove Kejriwal as CM.
Earlier, on March 28, the High Court dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by Surjit Singh Yadav. The Court stated that the matter should be examined by the executive and the President, emphasizing that the Court could not intervene in such matters. Subsequently, on April 4, the Court declined to consider another PIL submitted by Vishnu Gupta, the president of Hindu Sena. The Court asserted that it was ultimately Kejriwal's personal decision whether to continue as the CM or not.
The third plea, a writ petition, was lodged by Sandeep Kumar, asserting that despite being incapacitated, Kejriwal continues to occupy the position of Chief Minister of Delhi. This situation, according to Kumar, not only raises various constitutional complexities but also infringes upon the people of Delhi's Right to Life guarantee. Kumar sought a writ of quo warranto against Kejriwal, compelling him to demonstrate by what authority, qualification, and title he holds the office of Chief Minister of Delhi under Article 239AA of the Constitution. Following an inquiry, Kumar requested the removal of Kejriwal from the office of Chief Minister of Delhi, with or without retrospective effect.
