Delhi High Court hears PIL against leaders of political parties holding government posts; Lists the matter on January 17

The Delhi High Court on Friday deferred the hearing in a public interest litigation (PIL) petition for removal of members of political parties holding various government posts [Sonali Tiwary v Union of India and Ors]. .A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad asked the petitioner to do more research on the issue while adjourning the case. ."Do some more research.........." the Court remarked.The bench also asked the petitioner whether there exists any provision in law that prohibits politicians from holding such posts..The PIL is filed against BJPs Sambit Patra and Iqbal Singh Lalpura; Aam Admi Party's Jasmine Shah and Congress Party's Dr. Chanderbhan Singh..According to the petition here are the instances of violation by political leaders:.Sambit Patra is the Chairman of India Tourism Department Corporation (ITDC) while also being a National Spokesperson of the Bhartiya Janta Party. He has widely presented himself as the spokesperson of BJP, especially on social media.Iqbal Singh Lalpura is the Chairman of National Minorities Commission while also being a member of the Parliamentary Board of the Bhartiya Janta Party. He has used the NCM office for political activities, held press conferences attacking opposition parties including INC and AAP, and used the premises of NCM for such actionsJasmine Shah is the Vice-Chairman of the Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi while also being the Spokesperson of the Aam Aadmi Party. He has supported AAP in various videos and criticised the BJP.Dr. Chandrabhan is the Vice-Chairman of the Twenty Point Programme Implementation and Coordination Committee while also being a member of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee, and a former member of the PCC. He has openly talked about his political affiliations, his status within Congress, and criticised the BJP. .The petitioner in the plea cited the examples of BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra, who is the chairman of the India Tourism Department Corporation, as well as AAP spokesperson Jasmine Shah who is serving as Vice Chairperson of Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi.The petition contended that though such persons are expected to maintain neutrality and remain impartial, holding official positions within a political party negates this very purpose..The plea demanded that the government should enforce the principle of political neutrality of public servants which prohibits them from taking part in political activities as non-conformance to the principle is causing huge losses to the public exchequer and propagating the beliefs of the political parties..“It is further submitted that such persons are failing their duty as public servants which has been defined in Section 21 (12) (a) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Section 2 (c) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988,” the petition said.Such persons while drawing salary and allowances from tax payers' money cause loss to exchequer by their partisan activities, the plea stated.“It is submitted that while enjoying the pay, allowances and perks of a public servant from the taxpayers money, the partisan activities will cause huge loss to the public exchequer due to the partisan decisions of the public servants.”.The Court observed that prima facie, there is no bar to appointment of a political person, the matter deserves consideration and then listed the plea for further consideration on January 17, 2023..Senior Advocate Sanjoy Ghose appeared for the petitioner, Sonali Tiwary.