In a judicial proclamation emanating from New Delhi, the Delhi High Court, on this Wednesday, quashed the suspension of seven BJP MLAs within the Legislative Assembly. This suspension was meted out to them for the disruption caused during Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena’s inaugural address at the commencement of the Budget session. The septet from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – namely, Mohan Singh Bisht, Ajay Mahawar, O P Sharma, Abhay Verma, Anil Bajpai, Jitender Mahajan, and Vijender Gupta – sought legal remedy last month, challenging their suspension that extended until the conclusion of the proceedings before the privileges committee.
Justice Subramonium Prasad, pronouncing the court’s decision, stated, “The writ petitions are allowed.” The contention put forth by the MLAs centered on the purported violation of applicable rules through their suspension until the conclusion of the privileges committee’s proceedings. In contrast, the Assembly authorities assured the court that the suspension wasn’t an endeavor to stifle dissent within the House. Instead, it was asserted as a “self-discipline” mechanism in response to a “succession of misdemeanors” by the opposition legislators.
The interruption by BJP lawmakers transpired on February 15, disrupting Saxena’s discourse that accentuated the accomplishments of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the national capital. AAP MLA Dilip Pandey subsequently proffered a resolution in the House for their suspension, a resolution that found acceptance by Speaker Ram Niwas Goel. Simultaneously, Goel referred the matter to the privileges committee.
With the exception of Leader of Opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, all BJP lawmakers faced exclusion from participating in the House proceedings. The extension of the session until the initial week of March ensued due to a protraction in the finalization of the budget.