Delhi High Court overturned a decision made by Delhi Legislative Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel, which suspended seven BJP Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) from the house. Justice Subramonium Prasad delivered the verdict following a petition filed by the MLAs challenging the speaker’s action. The court had previously reserved its judgment on February 27.
Representing the suspended MLAs, Senior Advocate Jayant Mehta argued that the suspension until the conclusion of proceedings before the privileges committee violated the relevant rules. Conversely, Senior Advocate Sudhir Nandrajog, representing the Delhi Assembly, defended the suspension, characterizing it as a self-disciplinary measure.
Of the eight BJP MLAs in the Delhi Assembly, seven were suspended on allegations of disrupting the Lieutenant Governor (LG) Vinai Kumar Saxena’s address. The suspended BJP MLAs include Vijender Gupta, Ajay Kumar Mahawar, Anil Kumar Bajpai, Om Prakash Sharma, Jitender Mahajan, Mohan Singh Bisht, and Abhay Verma.
The suspended MLAs contended that Speaker Ram Niwas Goel’s decision was unconstitutional as it effectively silenced the opposition in the assembly. They argued that the motion introduced by AAP MLA Dilip Pandey aimed to exclude opposition members from participating in crucial discussions during the budget session.
The BJP MLAs also criticized the ruling AAP for politicizing their suspension, citing the suspension of AAP MP Raghav Chadha from Parliament. Despite apologizing to the Lieutenant Governor, the issue remained unresolved, prompting the High Court to hear the petitions on their merits.
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