Kapil Mishra moves HC against his disqualification from Delhi Assembly

Rebel AAP MLA Kapil Mishra on Tuesday moved Delhi High Court challenging his disqualification from the Delhi Assembly.

Misra, through his counsel Ashwini Dubey, has sought quashing or setting aside the August 2 order passed by Delhi Speaker in defection proceedings.

"The proceedings and the order is clearly in violation of law of natural justice and fair play, ultra vires to the 10th Schedule of The Constitution of India and being outside the purview of the 'Members of Delhi Legislative Assembly (Disqualification on Grounds of Defection) Rules, 1996'," read the petition.

The petition further alleges that the order is violative of the 10th Schedule of Constitution of India.

Delhi Speaker has behaved like the "head of a disciplinary committee of Aam Aadmi Party and took cognizance of a petition that has no relation with the power balance in the Assembly or with the stability of the government," Mishra said.

The petition mentioned that the order has been passed contrary to the principles of natural justice, without providing an opportunity to the petitioner and without passing any order on applications filed by him from time to time.

It is submitted that despite the request of the petitioner, the respondents have not given him the opportunity to contest his case on merits and also not permitted him to lead the evidence, did not allow him to summon the witnesses (list of which was submitted by petitioner), knowingly and deliberately in a clandestine manner avoided the cross-examination of MLA Saurav Bhardwaj by the petitioner.

The petition is likely to come up for hearing in one or two days.

Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel had on August 2 disqualified Kapil Mishra, who had campaigned for Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Lok Sabha elections, under the anti-defection law.

He took the decision on a complaint by AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj earlier seeking Mishra's disqualification on grounds of defection.

"Kapil Mishra, the Respondent in this case, an elected Member of the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, elected from Karawal Nagar, Constituency No. 70 has become subject to disqualification under Paragraph 2 (1) (a) of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution," read a statement from the Assembly.