AAP moves Supreme Court against President's rule in Delhi

NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday challenged in the Supreme Court the Delhi Lt Governor’s decision to keep the Capital’s assembly suspended, saying the decision was not only “arbitrary, illegal and in violation of democratic rights of the citizens of Delhi, but also mala fide”. The Assembly was placed under suspended animation on February 16 following the Arvind Kejriwal-led government’s resignation.

In a PIL filed through AAP secretary Deelip Kumar Pandey and former Delhi transport minister Saurabh Bhardwaj, the party said, “It was incumbent on the President, after assuming all the powers of the Lt. Governor to himself, of course with aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, to exercise the power to dissolve the Assembly…” the petition said.

“Especially since there was no possibility whatever of the formation of any other government since other main political parties (viz. the BJP, Congress) had already expressed their unwillingness and inability to form a government,” it added.

The home ministry is a party to the petition. Renowned constitutional expert Fali S Nariman is expected to argue AAP’s petition in the top court, according to an email from Prashant Bhushan’s office. The PIL is expected to come up in the court next week, it added.

The petition said the House was kept in suspended animation despite a recommendation of the majority government of the NCT to dissolve the Assembly. “The order is, therefore, illegal, arbitrary and in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution.” The PIL alleged that the “motive behind not dissolving the Delhi Assembly and holding fresh election is to allow a political party which had badly lost the election in December 2013” to rule indirectly. It further alleged that the motive was to frustrate probes into corruption charges under FIRs recently lodged by the Delhi government.

“Thus the decision is not only arbitrary and illegal and in violation of democratic rights of the citizens of Delhi but also mala fide.” “Both in the Constitution and the government of NCT of Delhi Act, 1991, the power to order dissolution is not a mere discretionary power to be exercised at the whim of the executive government,” the petition said, adding that the decision of the Lt Governor would only “thwart the election of a popular government and thus, deny the citizens of Delhi their democratic right to have an elected popular government”.