Delhi HC dismisses 3rd plea seeking removal of Kejriwal from CM’s post

April 10, 2024

New Delhi : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday came down heavily on former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Sandeep Kumar for seeking the removal of Arvind Kejriwal from the post of Chief Minister of Delhi, also noting the frivolity of his petition.

Referring it to a recurring film sequel, the court expressed displeasure at being embroiled in what he termed a “political thicket”. The court stressed the need to deter such repetitive litigation by imposing significant costs on Kumar.

“This is not a James Bond movie sequel,” the court said.

When the plea came up before Justice Subramonium Prasad on Monday, he had said that it was nothing but a “publicity interest petition”. The court’s remark had come after a division bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan had refused to entertain a similar PIL last week. The petition, filed by Hindu Sena President Vishnu Gupta, claimed that the situation after CM Kejriwal’s recent arrest by the ED constitutes a breach of constitutional trust mandated by the Constitution.

Kumar’s plea marked the third unsuccessful similar petition, with the court imposing a hefty fine of Rs 50,000 on him.

On Wednesday, a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet P.S. Arora questioned the basis of Kumar’s plea and reminded his counsel of previous rulings rejecting similar petitions. Despite warnings from the bench, Kumar’s counsel persisted in arguing the case, prompting the court to assertively impose the fine.

Dismissing Kumar’s arguments and criticising him for attempting to politicise the proceedings, the court stressed its role as a judicial body and urged Kumar to refrain from turning the courtroom into a platform for political discourse.