Third petition filed to remove Arvind Kejriwal as CM, Delhi High Court calls it “Publicity Interest Litigation”

The Delhi High Court on Monday came heavily on the petitioner seeking removal of Arvind Kejriwal as CM saying, “heavy costs should be imposed.”

Former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Sandeep Kumar filed a plea seeking to dislodge Arvind Kejriwal from holding the post of Delhi chief minister, following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped excise policy case.

This is the third plea to remove Kejriwal as CM that the High Court has dismissed. The plea, a writ petition, was filed by Sandeep Kumar stating that Kejriwal, though incapacitated, continues to hold the office of the Chief Minister of Delhi which not only raises several constitutional complications but also violates the guarantee of Right to Life of the people in Delhi, reported Bar and Bench.

Kumar sought a writ of quo warranto against Kejriwal, calling upon him to demonstrate by what authority, qualification, and title he holds the office of Chief Minister of Delhi under Article 239AA of the Constitution, it said.

Justice Subramonium Prasad criticised the petitioner, Sandeep Kumar, for filing the plea though two similar petitions filed by others had already been rejected by the High Court earlier.

Earlier, a bench led by acting chief justice Manmohan had heard and rejected such plea and the present plea was nothing but a “publicity interest petition.”

"Heavy costs should be imposed on you," the Court remarked.

The plea was eventually transferred to the bench of the acting Chief Justice since that bench had heard similar petitions before.

Earlier, on March 28, the High Court had rejected a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by one Surjit Singh Yadav.

The High Court had categorically said that it could not interfere in the matter and this was in the purview of executive and the President to examine the issue.

Thereafter, on April 4, the Court refused to entertain the plea saying it would be Kejriwal's personal call to continue as the CM or not.

The petition was filed by one Vishnu Gupta, the president of Hindu Sena alleging that Kejriwal was arrested in connection with an offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and is ‘guilty of breach of constitutional trust for allegation of corruption, and consequently his arrest.’

Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 and was remanded in judicial custody till April 15 by Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court. 

The opposition has condemned the arrest of a sitting Chief Minister and other senior political leaders, including the Bharat Rashtra Samithi's K Kavitha.

INDIA bloc had also held a mega rally in Ramlila Ground on March 31 in protest of the arrest of Kejriwal and former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren.