Election Commission disqualifies 20 AAP MLAs for holding 'office of profit'

The Election Commission on Friday disqualified 20 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs for holding 'office of profit' and has also sent the recommendation to President Ram Nath Kovind.

In its opinion sent to President Ram Nath Kovind, the Election Commission said by being parliamentary secretaries, they held office of profit and were liable to be disqualified as MLAs of the Delhi Assembly, highly placed sources said.
 

The President is bound to go by the recommendation of the Commission.

In cases where petitions are made seeking disqualification of lawmakers, the President sends a reference to the EC which decides on the case by sending back its opinion.

The Congress had on June 9, 2016, moved the poll panel to seek disqualification of 21 AAP MLAs and has been pursuing the matter ever since. 

The proceedings were dropped against Jarnail Singh after he resigned as the Rajouri Garden MLA to contest the Punjab Assembly polls in February 2017.

In October last year, the EC had issued a notice to the Aam Aadmi Party lawmakers for an explanation.

In June 2017, the EC rejected the MLAs pleas to drop the 'office of profit' case against them and ruled that the disqualification proceedings against them will continue.

In March 2015, the AAP government passed an amendment to the Delhi Members of Legislative Assembly (Removal of Disqualification) Act, 1997, to exempt the posts of Parliamentary Secretary from the definition of office of profit with retrospective effect.

However, then President Pranab Mukherjee refused to give assent, following which the appointments were set aside by the Delhi High Court in September 2016, which declared them illegal since the order had been passed "without concurrence/approval of the Lt Governor".