The chief minister of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCTD), Arvind Kejriwal, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in an alleged case of receiving bribes for giving out liquor licences, has refused to resign; his party has announced he will continue to run the state government from jail.
The CM has issued two orders from jail. In carrying on his duties from behind bars, Kejriwal is leaning on the principle of presumption of innocence until guilt is proven. Kejriwal has maintained he is only an accused, not a convict.
The Supreme Court’s landmark 2013 judgement in the Lily Thomas case said that a lawmaker would get automatically disqualified as a member of the legislature if convicted for two years or more. The Aam Aadmi Party has maintained that Kejriwal is not yet convicted and that he would ultimately be released. The party has rightly argued that if the ED and CBI succeed in proving their case, Lily Thomas will automatically kick in and the chief minister will resign.
There is no case for seeking the CM’s resignation merely on the basis of politically motivated charges. But there are other legal provisions that need to be looked into. Article 239AB of the Constitution may come into play in the current situation. This provision, incorporated specifically for the NCTD, is similar to Article 356—it empowers the lieutenant-governor of Delhi to recommend imposition of president’s rule by suspending the assembly. Delhi L-G V K Saxena has already announced he will not allow the state’s government to be run from jail.
This has put the AAP government in Delhi and the Union government, represented by the L-G, on a collision course. But the AAP argument based on the presumption of innocence doctrine stands on sound legal ground. It was because of this legal position that the Delhi High Court on Thursday rejected a petition seeking Kejriwal’s removal as CM. The court said there is no legal bar for Kejriwal continuing as CM. However, it did not go into the jurisdiction of the L-G and said the L-G was examining the issue and the president may look into it. The L-G should take a cue from the court’s decision and refrain from rushing into seeking the CM’s dismissal.