AAP MLAs as Parliamentary Secretaries: High Court seeks Centre, CM, LG reply

NEW DELHI: Delhi High Court has again sought responses of the Centre, Delhi Lieutenant Governor and the city government on a plea seeking quashing of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's order appointing 21 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs as Parliamentary Secretaries to its ministers.

A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath asked the Union Home Ministry, Kejriwal and LG to file their counter affidavits before the next date of hearing on October 7.

The court passed the order after the Centre, represented by Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain and the city government, represented by advocate Raman Duggal, sought time to file their responses to the PIL by NGO 'Rashtriya Mukti Morcha'.

Duggal defended the AAP government's appointments saying they were meant to act as a "bridge" between the minister and his constituency and added that no laws or rules were violated by the appointments.

He also said that the state assembly has approved a law to ensure the parliamentary secretaries do not flout the office of profit clause.

The bench, however, directed him to state it all in the affidavit.

The NGO has claimed in its plea that appointment of 21 AAP MLA as parliamentary secretaries to ministers was "unconstitutional, illegal and without jurisdiction".

It has sought direction to the ministry, Kejriwal and LG to restrain the 21 Delhi Legislative Members from acting as parliamentary secretaries till "final adjudication" of the plea.