Fresh jolt to Kejriwal government: Court sets aside appointment of 21 AAP MLAs as parliamentary secretaries

NEW DELHI: In a fresh jolt to the Arvind Kejriwal government, Delhi high court on Thursday set aside its order appointing 21 AAP MLAs as parliamentary secretaries on the ground that it was issued without the concurrence of the lieutenant governor.

The order came around a month after the high court on August 4 held that the lieutenant governor was the administrative head of the Union territory of Delhi and his concurrence was “mandatory” in administrative issues.

A bench of chief justice G Rohini and justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal set aside the March 13, 2015, order after the counsel appearing for the Delhi government “conceded” that it was issued without taking concurrence or views of the lieutenant governor.

Senior advocate Sudhir Nandrajog, appearing for the Delhi government, referred to the August 4 verdict and said: “Today, I have to concede that the judgement stands against me (Delhi government).” He said that the March 13, 2015 order, appointing 21 legislators as parliamentary secretaries, was issued without taking the concurrence or view of the L-G.