Disqualified 20 AAP MLAs withdraw plea from Delhi High Court, to file fresh ones

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday evening withdrew their application from the Delhi High Court seeking interim relief for its 20 MLA’s on Election Commission of India (ECI) recommendation over their disqualification to the President of India in the ‘office of profit’. 

The AAP sources said that the party will file a fresh petition in Delhi High Court seeking quashing its MLAs. The fresh petition will be filed on the grounds that the ECI did not grant AAP MLAs fair hearing.

According to senior AAP leaders the party will also argue that the MLAs did not obtain any profit as alleged parliamentary secretaries.

The Delhi High Court was earlier supposed to hear AAP’s petition seeking a stay on ECI recommendation to disqualify its 20 Legislators from state legislative assembly.

The Election Commission on Friday had recommended to the President Ram Nath Kovind that the 20 MLAs were liable for disqualification for holding offices of profit between March 13, 2015 and September 8, 2016, following which President Kovind gave his acceptance on Saturday.

The MLAs were appointed parliamentary secretaries, who assist ministers with their work and this was described as them holding offices of profit by petitioner Prashant Patel. The party insisted that despite holding the office, these MLAs did not take any salaries or perks.