A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed before the Delhi High Court seeking the removal of Arvind Kejriwal as Chief Minister (CM) of Delhi. .The PIL called upon the Central and Delhi governments to answer under what authority Kejriwal is holding the post..Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the money laundering case connected to the Delhi Excise Policy case after a late night search at his residence.He was earlier refused interim protection from arrest by the Delhi High Court..The petition has cited TV interviews by Delhi Legislative Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel and Delhi Education Minister Atishi stating that Kejriwal will not resign and will run the government from jail if required.It argues that the continuation of Kejriwal as CM will not only lead to obstruction of due process of law and disrupt the course of justice, but will also lead to breakdown of constitutional machinery in Delhi.In this backdrop, it contends that persons holding high offices should follow the Constitution and not violate the law.Further, it states that a CM accused in a financial scandal should not be permitted to continue as he has forfeited his right to occupy a public office that demands a high degree of constitutional morality..The plea underlines that in order to be a CM, the provisions of Articles 163 and 164 of the Indian Constitution need to be strictly adhered to. It is contended that Kejriwal does not satisfy most limbs of these two articles owing to his incarceration. The petition has also argued that Kejriwal's salary will not be justified given that he will not be able to perform his duties.Notably, the plea has also underlined that if Kejriwal performs his duties from jail, any documents travelling to him will have to be scanned by prison authorities, breaching Kejriwal's oath of secrecy under the Third Schedule of the Constitution.The plea has also highlighted that Kejriwal, being the Chief Minister, would be well within his rights to demand investigation files in cases where he in an accused. .The petition has been filed by Sukhbir Singh Yadav, who had also recently filed a PIL seeking directions to Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to take action against Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and Arvind Kejriwal for allegedly making "misleading and false statements" against the government and damaging the "credibility of India".The PIL was dismissed by a Bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, which observed that the wisdom of Indian voters cannot be underestimated and they know who is speaking the truth and who is lying.
A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed before the Delhi High Court seeking the removal of Arvind Kejriwal as Chief Minister (CM) of Delhi. .The PIL called upon the Central and Delhi governments to answer under what authority Kejriwal is holding the post..Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the money laundering case connected to the Delhi Excise Policy case after a late night search at his residence.He was earlier refused interim protection from arrest by the Delhi High Court..The petition has cited TV interviews by Delhi Legislative Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel and Delhi Education Minister Atishi stating that Kejriwal will not resign and will run the government from jail if required.It argues that the continuation of Kejriwal as CM will not only lead to obstruction of due process of law and disrupt the course of justice, but will also lead to breakdown of constitutional machinery in Delhi.In this backdrop, it contends that persons holding high offices should follow the Constitution and not violate the law.Further, it states that a CM accused in a financial scandal should not be permitted to continue as he has forfeited his right to occupy a public office that demands a high degree of constitutional morality..The plea underlines that in order to be a CM, the provisions of Articles 163 and 164 of the Indian Constitution need to be strictly adhered to. It is contended that Kejriwal does not satisfy most limbs of these two articles owing to his incarceration. The petition has also argued that Kejriwal's salary will not be justified given that he will not be able to perform his duties.Notably, the plea has also underlined that if Kejriwal performs his duties from jail, any documents travelling to him will have to be scanned by prison authorities, breaching Kejriwal's oath of secrecy under the Third Schedule of the Constitution.The plea has also highlighted that Kejriwal, being the Chief Minister, would be well within his rights to demand investigation files in cases where he in an accused. .The petition has been filed by Sukhbir Singh Yadav, who had also recently filed a PIL seeking directions to Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to take action against Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and Arvind Kejriwal for allegedly making "misleading and false statements" against the government and damaging the "credibility of India".The PIL was dismissed by a Bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, which observed that the wisdom of Indian voters cannot be underestimated and they know who is speaking the truth and who is lying.
