The Delhi High Court has set aside the January order of the Election Commission to disqualify 20 Delhi MLAs. They belong to the Aam Aadmi Party and were accused of holding offices of profit. They had been appointed parliamentary secretaries. The office of the Lieutenant Governor refused to allow the amendment to the Disqualification Act. By the time a complaint was filed before the EC, the Delhi High Court had set aside the appointments. The AAP government told the EC that the issue was null and void. Nevertheless, the EC disqualified the legislators. Many legislatures have amended the disqualification rule. Many MLAs have held the office of legislative secretary in the past. It is obvious that the EC took strong action against AAP legislators because of the virtual war going on between the Delhi government under Arvind Kejriwal and the BJP at the centre. In this case, the EC certainly proved itself to be under pressure from the ruling party at the Centre and in most states.
A legislator represents people’s mandate and should be disqualified in only extreme cases. Long ago Sonia Gandhi was accused of holding an office of profit. She resigned and came back to parliament with an unprecedented majority. In the Delhi case, the EC did not uphold the principles of natural justice. The Delhi High Court emphasised that the MLAs disqualified were not allowed to defend themselves. The President’s office could have questioned the EC’s order. The Delhi High Court has repaired the damage done to democracy.