NEW DELHI: Delhi High Court is likely to pronounce its verdict on Friday on the plea of 20 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs challenging their disqualification for holding office-of-profit when they were appointed parliamentary secretaries.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Chander Shekhar had reserved the judgement after the legislators, Election Commission of India (EC) and other parties had concluded their arguments. During the arguments, the MLAs had told the court that ECs order disqualifying them for allegedly holding office-of-profit was passed in “complete violation of natural justice” as they were not given an opportunity to explain their stand before the poll panel.
The MLA’s had approached the High Court challenging their disqualification after President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the EC’s recommendation.
The poll panel had told the court that the legislators cannot claim that they were not holding office-of-profit and had also claimed that their pleas were not maintainable and were liable to be dismissed.
The MLAs are accused of holding offices of profit, as they were appointed parliamentary secretaries to ministers in the Delhi government in March 2015, soon after they were elected to the Assembly.
On February 28, the court had reserved its order on their plea challenging their disqualification.