Delhi High Court: Striking down the Election Commission’s order disqualifying 20 Aam Admi Party (AAP) MLAs for holding offices of profit, the Delhi High Court has directed the poll body to hear the case again. The President, acting on the recommendation of the EC, had disqualified the MLAs for holding office of profit as Parliamentary Secretaries.
Observing that the ECI’s recommendaton on January 19 was vitiated because of its failure to give the MLAs an oral hearing or opportunity to address their argument on merits, the Division Bench of Sanjiv Khanna and Chander Shekhar, JJ. referred the matter back to the ECI to reconsider afresh the issue by giving them a proper hearing.
The MLAs had told the Court that the ECI recommendation to the President was in “complete violation of natural justice” as they were not given the opportunity to explain their stand before the poll panel.
[Source: The Hindu]
