In a fresh plea against Aam Aadmi (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal retaining his position as the chief minister of Delhi, former AAP MLA Sandeep Kumar went to the Delhi High Court seeking the removal of Kejriwal’s removal. The petition is listed for hearing before Justice Subramonium Prasad in Delhi High Court on Monday.
In his petition, Kumar said that after his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money-laundering case linked to the now-scrapped excise policy for capital, Kejriwal has incurred “incapacity” to perform a chief minister’s functions according to the constitution.
The plea states that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader’s “unavailability” complicates the constitutional mechanism and can never function as the CM from prison according to the Consitution’s mandate.
The petition states “Article 239AA(4) of the Constitution provides for the Council of Ministers with the chief minister at the head to aid and advise the lieutenant governor in the exercise of his functions in relation to matters with respect to which the legislative Assembly has power to make laws. The aid and advice to the lieutenant governor are practically not possible without the chief minister being a free person available to render his aid and advice under the Constitution,”
Kejriwal, who was taken in by the ED on 21st March 2024, is currently lodged in Tihar Jail. The High Court had earlier rejected two public interest litigation pleas that wanted Arvind Kejriwal’s removal from the post of Delhi CM.
On 4th April, a bench of acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet P S Arora refused to acknowledge a PIL based on the issue, stating it was Arvind Kejriwal’s personal desire to go ahead as the CM of the national capital.
Earlier, the judge bench dismissed a similar PIL, observing that the petitioner didn’t show any legal bar that prohibited Arvind Kejriwal from holding the position of CM. It acknowledged that there was no scope for judicial interference in the matter, and it would depend on other organs of the State.
