NEW DELHI: The Election Commission today adjourned for August 24 its hearing on a plea to disqualify 20 Delhi AAP MLAs for allegedly holding office of profit as an order of the Delhi High Court on the legislators' request to cross examine the petitioner and state government officials was not out yet.
On July 23, the EC had adjourned its hearing for today as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lawmakers from the city had moved the Delhi High Court challenging the poll panel's decision rejecting their demand to cross examine the petitioner who had sought their removal as lawmakers.
Last week, the HC, in its draft order, had said that while petitioner in the office of profit case Prashant Patel cannot be cross examined, the MLAs can approach the poll panel again to cross examine officials of the Delhi government and the state assembly to prove that they were not holding office of profit as parliamentary secretaries.
Since the final order of the HC was not out yet, the 20 AAP lawmakers today moved an adjournment petition before the EC.
The EC then adjourned the hearing for August 24, Patel said after the hearing.
In its July 17 order, the poll panel said it does not find merit in AAP MLAs' plea to cross examine Patel to prove that they were not holding any office-of-profit. Patel, an advocate, had claimed that by being parliamentary secretaries, the 21 AAP lawakers held office of profit and were liable for being disqualified as MLAs of the Delhi assembly.
One of the MLAs had later resigned.
Following a directive from the Delhi High Court, the Election Commission is hearing afresh the case related to disqualification of 20 AAP MLAs for allegedly holding office-of-profit by virtue of their appointment as parliamentary secretaries.
The EC had, on January 19, recommended the disqualification of the 20 AAP MLAs.
President Ram Nath Kovind had accepted the poll panel's opinion the next day But the EC's move was quashed by the Delhi High Court, terming it "bad in law".
The Delhi AAP lawmakers had moved the plea in EC on May 16 for cross-examination of Patel, and officials of the assembly and city government to prove that they were not holding any office-of-profit by being appointed as parliamentary secretaries.
The 20 MLAs include, Adarsh Shastri (Dwarka), Alka Lamba (Chandni Chowk), Anil Bajpai (Gandhi Nagar), Avtar Singh (Kalkaji), Kailash Gahlot (Najafgarh) -- who is also a minister -- Madan Lal (Kasturba Nagar), Manoj Kumar (Kondli), Naresh Yadav (Mehrauli), Nitin Tyagi (Laxmi Nagar), Praveen Kumar (Jangpura).
Others are: Rajesh Gupta (Wazirpur), Rajesh Rishi ( Janakpuri), Sanjeev Jha (Burari), Sarita Singh (Rohtas Nagar), Som Dutt (Sadar Bazar), Sharad Kumar (Narela), Shiv Charan Goel (Moti Nagar), Sukhbir Singh (Mundka), Vijendar Garg (Rajinder Nagar) and Jarnail Singh (Tilak Nagar).