The High Court here on Tuesday asked suspended seven Delhi BJP MLAs whether they were prepared to apologise to Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena for repeatedly interrupting his address to the Legislative Assembly that prompted action against them.
The court asked the counsel for the suspended legislators to take instructions on this after the lawyer representing the Assembly said a similar approach was adopted in the Supreme Court to end the suspension of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha.
The BJP MLAs — Mohan Singh Bisht, Ajay Mahawar, O. P. Sharma, Abhay Verma, Anil Bajpai, Jitender Mahajan and Vijender Gupta — had interrupted Mr. Saxena multiple times during his address on February 15 as he highlighted achievements of the AAP government.
They were suspended for an indefinite period, a decision they challenged in the High Court arguing that their suspension till the conclusion of proceedings before the House privileges committee was in violation of the rules and that they were consequently unable to attend the ongoing Budget Session.
“’The Order of the Hon’ble Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the NCT of Delhi is unconstitutional, unjust, unfair and, in any event, selective and grossly disproportionate. It violates the fundamental and constitutional rights of the petitioners,” the petition said.
The plea said the Delhi government will be presenting its last full budget before the Assembly election in 2025, therefore, the presence of the Opposition members was of utmost importance.
However, senior advocate Sudhir Nandrajog, appearing for the Assembly, said the matter is not political and involves the dignity of the office of the L-G.
“’I spoke to the Speaker. He also suggested the route followed by the Supreme Court in the Raghav Chadha’s case,” Mr. Nandrajog said.
Senior advocate Jayant Mehta, appearing for the MLAs, said they had no problem apologising in to the L-G.
The High Court will hear the matter again on Wednesday.
Published - February 21, 2024 12:56 am IST
