Breather to AAP MLAs but not complete relief

The Delhi High Court on Friday quashed the Election Commission's January order disqualifying 20 MLAs of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party for holding the office of profit.

The sword of disqualification, however, keeps hanging on them as the High Court has tossed the ball back in the EC's court to decide the case, after giving them a hearing that was denied.

"The opinion of the Election Commission given to the President is bad in law for failure to comply with principles of natural justice,’’ the court held.

The "office of profit" controversy has been simmering ever since AAP captured power in Delhi, winning 67 out of 70 seats. Handicapped by the Constitution, which had capped the number of minister at six, Kejriwal appointed 21 MLAs as parliamentary secretaries in March 2015. One of them, Sardar Jarnail Singh, resigned in 2017 to contest the Punjab Assembly election though without success, leaving 20 who were disqualified by the Election Commission.

The HC directed the EC to hold continuous hearing to hear out the MLAs' logic why they cannot be disqualified. Their logic is that they did not enjoy any salary or perks as parliamentary secretaries, except what they get as MLAs, and so the office of profit clause does not impinge on them.

The EC had given its opinion on a petition referred to it by then President Pranab Mukherjee in June 2015, who also refused to give his assent to a Bill that Kejriwal got passed by Delhi Assembly for ending the disqualification of the MLAs by excluding

parliamentary secretaries from "office of profit" with retrospective effect.

In no time, the verdict was hailed by Kejriwal as "victory of truth" since the court had quashed the wrongful dismissal of representatives of the people.

The victorious MLAs rushed to attend the ongoing Assembly session with Speaker Ram Niwas Goel declaring that they are welcome back as legitimate members of the House.