The disqualified Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) challenged the decision of the Election Commission to disqualify them in an office-of-profit case before the Delhi High Court on Tuesday.
The disqualified AAP MLAs made an urgent mention of their case before a bench of Justice S. Ravindra Bhat and Justice A.K. Chawla, who then posted the case for hearing on Wednesday.
The move came a day after the disqualified AAP MLAs withdrew their plea from the High Court challenging the poll panels recommendation to disqualify them in the office of profit case.
On January 19, the Election Commission sent its opinion to the President saying that by being parliamentary secretaries, the AAP legislators held office of profit and must be disqualified from the Delhi Assembly. Acting on the opinion, President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday gave his assent for the disqualification of the MLAs.
The President is bound by the recommendation of the poll panel. If the President receives a petition seeking disqualification of lawmakers, he refers it to the EC. The poll panel takes a decision and sends its recommendation to the Rashtrapati Bhavan which is accepted.
The Delhi government, led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, had appointed the parliamentary secretaries attached to government ministries after coming to power in February 2015.
However, a constitutional clause prohibits legislators or parliamentarians from holding any position with monetary or other benefits. Known as office of profit, the clause is aimed at reducing conflict-of-interest situations for public representatives.
The Delhi government had claimed the appointments will facilitate a smooth functioning. It claimed that the secretaries would not receive any remuneration or perks from the government, so that the exchequer would face no additional burden.
