The Delhi High Court on Tuesday reserved its order on the pleas filed by seven BJP MLAs challenging their indefinite suspension from the legislative assembly.
The suspension was imposed due to their interruption of Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena’s address at the beginning of the budget session. Justice Subramonium Prasad instructed the parties to submit brief written arguments, if any, within two days.
The petitions were filed by BJP MLAs Mohan Singh Bisht, Ajay Mahawar, O P Sharma, Abhay Verma, Anil Bajpai, Jitender Mahajan, and Vijender Gupta, contesting their suspension until the privileges committee concludes its proceedings.
Previously, the court had directed the Delhi Assembly’s privileges committee to halt its proceedings against the suspended MLAs due to the pending legal matter. Represented by senior advocate Jayant Mehta, the MLAs argued that their suspension violated applicable rules.
Assembly authorities assured the court that the suspension wasn’t intended to suppress dissent and that the privileges committee would conclude its proceedings promptly.
Senior advocate Sudhir Nandrajog, representing the Delhi Assembly, argued that suspension was a disciplinary measure in response to repeated disruptions by opposition legislators.
He opposed the petitions, asserting the House’s discretion in maintaining its dignity. Nandrajog suggested that the MLAs could have apologized to the House, similar to their apology to the LG.
The BJP lawmakers had interrupted Saxena’s address multiple times on February 15, criticizing the AAP government’s achievements. AAP MLA Dilip Pandey subsequently proposed their suspension, which was endorsed by Speaker Ram Niwas Goel, who referred the matter to the privileges committee. Except for Leader of the Opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, all other BJP lawmakers were barred from assembly proceedings. The session was extended until the first week of March due to budget finalization delays.
The MLAs’ petitions argued that their suspension violated Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, as well as their rights and privileges as MLAs, citing principles of proportionality and rationality.
The petitioners emphasized the significance of opposition members’ presence during the final budget before the 2025 assembly elections.
