'Suspension From Assembly Cannot Be For Indefinite Period': Delhi HC Permits 7 MLAs To Rejoin

The Delhi High Court has allowed petitions filed by seven MLAs, which challenged their suspension from the remainder of the Budget sessions of the Delhi Assembly.

In that context, the Bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad observed that, "For a breach of Code of Conduct, the Petitioners could have been given only any one of the punishments provided under Clause 44 of the Fifth Schedule which does not stipulate a suspension for an indefinite period. Since the suspension can be only for a specific period and not indefinitely i.e., till the Committee of Privileges takes a decision on the question of breach of privilege, the suspension of the Petitioners till the Committee of Privileges takes a decision is, therefore, beyond the purview of Clause 44 of the Fifth Schedule and is, therefore, unsustainable."

Senior Counsel Jayant Mehta, along with others, appeared for the petitioners, while Senior Counsel Sudhir Nadrajog and ASC Sameer Vashisht, along with others, appeared for the respondents.

Seven members, namely Mohan Singh Bisht, Ajay Mahawar, OP Sharma, Abhay Verma, Anil Vajpayi, Jitender Mahajan, and Vijender Gupta, were suspended from the Delhi Legislative Assembly. The suspension, until the conclusion of proceedings before the privileges committee, faced legal challenge.

The suspended members argued that the suspension violated relevant rules, while the Assembly asserted it as a "self-discipline mechanism." Despite the MLAs' apology letter to LG Vinai Kumar Saxena, accepted by him, and their communication with the Speaker, the matter remained unresolved.

The suspension occurred after BJP MLAs interrupted Lt Governor VK Saxena during his address on February 15. The MLAs alleged biased action by the Speaker and challenged the suspension's constitutionality. They contended it was a calculated effort to exclude them from house deliberations indefinitely. The interruption by the MLAs during the session involved contradicting the Lieutenant Governor's claims, leading to their removal from the assembly.

The Court observed that, "In the absence of any application of mind by the Speaker in referring the matter to the Committee of Privileges and in view of the fact that the Petitioners have not been heard while being given punishment of suspension till the Committee of Privileges decides the matter and since the punishment under Rule 77 of Chapter XI can be prescribed only after a Member is heard, the direction for suspending the Petitioners till the Committee of Privileges takes a decision cannot be sustained."

In light of the same, the Court ordered that the petitioners should be permitted to re-join the House.

Appearances:

Petitioners: Senior Counsel Jayant Mehta, Counsels Ripu Daman Bhardwaj, Satya Ranjan Swain, Vijay Kumar Joshi, Himanshu Bidhuri, Kangan Roda, Nikita Sethi

Respondents: Senior Counsel Sudhir Nadrajog, ASC Sameer Vashisht, Counsels Vanshay Kaul, Aman Singh, Vedansh Vashisht

Cause Title: Ajay Kumar Mahawar & Ors. vs Legislative Assembly Of The National Capital Territory Of Delhi

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