No urgency to hear pleas on CM’s sit-in, officers’ ‘strike’: HC

Bench says deadlock has been broken; lists matter for hearing on August 3

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and three Cabinet Ministers sat on a dharna at Raj Niwas for nine days, which ended on June 19. They had demanded that Delhi government officers be told to end their alleged strike.

The Delhi High Court on Friday declined to give urgent hearings to pleas moved against the recent sit-in dharna by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the alleged strike by IAS officers saying the “deadlock” between them has been broken.

“Deadlock is broken. There is no urgency,” a Vacation Bench of Justices A. K. Chawla and Navin Chawla said while listing all the cases pertaining to the issues for hearing on August 3.

Two pleas against sit-in

When the Bench asked the petitioners, including Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta, whether they wanted to withdraw their respective petitions, all the petitioners said they wanted to pursue the issues raised by them.

There are two petitions, one by lawyer Hari Nath Ram and another by Mr. Gupta, against the recent sit-in hunger strike by Mr. Kejriwal and his Cabinet colleagues Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Health Minister Satyendar Jain, at the office of Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal.

Mr. Ram also moved the Supreme Court after the High Court declined to pass an interim order on June 18. The apex court is likely to hear the matter in July.

Two pleas against officers

Apart from the pleas against Mr. Kejriwal’s protest, two separate petitions have been moved by lawyers Umesh Gupta and Prashant Manchanda against IAS officers for allegedly not attending meetings convened by AAP Ministers.

Mr. Manchanda, whose plea was filed two days ago, has alleged “breakdown of the administrative machinery” due to bureaucrats not attending meetings.

Mr. Kejriwal and his Ministers had been on a hunger strike since June 11 evening to press for their demands, including a direction to IAS officers to end their ‘strike’, and action against those who have struck work.

It was called off a day after the High Court on June 18 had virtually disapproved of the protest by questioning who had authorised it.

The HC had questioned the CM whether his sit-in or ‘dharna’ at the L-G’s office was authorised by Mr. Baijal saying that such a strike cannot be held inside Raj Niwas.

“If it is a strike or dharna, it has to be somewhere else. This cannot be called a strike. You cannot go inside someone’s office or house and hold a strike,” the Bench had remarked.