New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking to deregister the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and bar Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Durgesh Pathak from contesting elections. The court categorically stated that the petition is based solely on misunderstanding and lacks any merit. The court stated that the petition is baseless, stating that there is no such legal provision, and that contempt of court falls under a separate law.
The Delhi High Court observed that the petition in the matter, which seeks a direction to the Election Commission of India to cancel the registration of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for alleged violation of Section 29A(5) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, has been filed without proper understanding of the legal framework.
The Delhi High Court heard a public interest litigation (PIL) filed in the Delhi High Court seeking disqualification of Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Durgesh Pathak from contesting elections and cancellation of the AAP party’s registration. A bench headed by Chief Justice Devendra Upadhyay conducted the hearing. The court dismissed the PIL, stating that the allegations made in the petition lack legal merit. Therefore, there is no justification for passing any order on the petition.
The petition alleged that the politicians boycotted court proceedings during the liquor policy hearing and launched a campaign against the judge on social media. Therefore, they should be barred from contesting elections and the AAP’s registration should be cancelled. However, the court clearly stated that such demands have no legal basis and the PIL is not maintainable.
The court asked, “You want us to order the Election Commission to cancel the registration of a political party? But is there any provision in the law for deregistering a political party? If so, what is its full legal framework?”
The petition states that it has been filed in public interest to maintain “public faith in the justice delivery system” and to ensure equal respect for judicial proceedings, regardless of political position or status.
The court said that the registration of a political party can be cancelled only if it has been declared an unlawful organisation under UAPA or any similar law.
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