HC frowns at sofa ‘dharna’

You can't go inside someone's office or house and hold a strike there, says court as Kejriwal stays put in LG’s office

The Delhi High Court on Monday frowned at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s weeklong sit-in at the lieutenant governor's office and remarked: "This can't be called a strike. You can't go inside someone's office or house and hold a strike there."

The court did not issue any interim directions but asked the AAP government who had authorised such a protest. ‘‘You are sitting inside the LG's office. If it's a strike, it has to be outside the office. You cannot hold a strike inside someone's office or residence," the court said.

The court was hearing a petition which has contended that the protest is unconstitutional, that Kejriwal and his ministers "consider themselves above the law" and should be ordered to get back to work. It is Kejriwal’s contention that IAS officers are refusing to show up to work - or working only selectively - and the Lieutenant Governor must intervene to change that.

The court said it will take up the ‘sofa dharna’ case on Friday and demanded that the IAS officers be included in the petition. On Sunday, IAS officers had denied that they were on strike. Sources said the officers are merely caught in the crossfire between the AAP and the BJP, which is often accused by regional parties, including some of its own allies, of disrespecting the basic rights of states.

Responding to the query by the bench, senior advocate Sudhir Nandrajog, who appeared for the Delhi government, said Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues took the decision to protest in their individual capacity and they were empowered to do so under the Constitution.

Nandrajog also told the court that the only direction that can be issued by the bench was to the IAS officers to attend routine departmental meetings held by the ministers.

The Aam Aadmi Party has decided to start a campaign from Tuesday to reach out to at least 10 lakh households in Delhi and collect signatures on a petition requesting that the party's demands be met.

Kejriwal, along with his deputy Manish Sisodia and Cabinet Ministers Satyendar Jain and Gopal Rai, had been camping at the Lt. Governor's office since June 11. Sisodia, who has been on a hunger strike since June 13, was taken to the hospital on Monday due to failing health; Satyendar Jain, who has been fasting since June 12, was hospitalised late on Sunday.