The Delhi High Court on Friday asked the office of the Speaker of Delhi Assembly to respond to a plea by MLA Kartar Singh Tanwar challenging his disqualification from the House.
Mr. Tanwar, who won from the Chhatarpur constituency on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ticket in 2020, was disqualified by Speaker Ram Niwas Goel on September 24 under the anti-defection law.
The lawmaker quit the party and joined the BJP in July, along with another MLA Raaj Kumar Anand.
Mr. Tanwar’s counsel submitted that the termination order was “cryptic” and “non-speaking”, and was passed in haste without affording an opportunity of personal hearing to him.
The counsel submitted that due to the decision, Mr. Tanwar was unable to perform his duties and the development work was getting hampered.
“Hence, this writ petition seeking setting aside of the impugned order dated September 24, 2024 passed by the respondent no.1 disqualifying the petitioner from the membership of the Delhi Legislative Assembly,” the petition said.
Besides the Speaker, the petition also named MLA Dilip Kumar Pandey as a party since he had filed the complaint seeking disqualification of the petitioner in August. The court also issued notice to Mr. Pandey seeking his reply to the plea.
Mr. Tanwar, in his plea, said it was the ‘India Against Corruption’ movement that motivated him to join AAP but “one after the other scams” have brought the party a bad name and “unmasked the true faces of the leaders”.
Published - October 19, 2024 01:15 am IST
