Yesterday, the Delhi High Court pushed for hefty costs to be levied on Sandeep Kumar, a former AAP legislator, after having moved a petition demanding that Arvind Kejriwal stand down as Delhi Chief Minister. This move indicates that the government’s next target is alleged tax fraud, of which Kejriwal and his team are accused. This arrest came after his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case related to an excise policy case.
In this case material was procedurally transferred to a bench headed by acting Chief Justice Manmohan, the bench headed by Justice Subramanium Prasai noticed that two similar pleas had already been heard and dismissed. The court has slated the motion for hearing on the 10th of April.
In his petition, Sandeep Kumar argued that Kejriwal’s arrest by the ED renders him unable to fulfill his duties as Chief Minister under the Constitution. Kumar contended that Kejriwal’s incarceration creates a constitutional dilemma, asserting that a Chief Minister cannot effectively serve while in prison, as mandated by the Constitution.
Citing Article 239AA(4) of the Constitution, which outlines the role of the Council of Ministers and the Chief Minister in assisting and advising the Lieutenant Governor, the petition argued that Kejriwal’s confinement hinders the provision of such aid and advice.
The writ petition raised the issue under Article 239AA (4) of the Constitution, which deals with the Deputy Chairman (Chief Minister) and other Ministers’ role being assisting and guiding the Lieutenant Governor. Therefore, the detention of Kejriwal is claimed to hamper the performance of his duties to the government.
In this part, the petition additionally called for the issuance of the writ of quo warranto against Kejriwal in order to dispute his absolute right to serve as Chief Minister under the proviso of Article 239AA. It brought an interrogation about him, which possibly ended in his removal from office, either with or without retroactive effect.
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