Did you give notice to NDMC's ex-members: HC asks Centre

The Delhi High Court Monday asked the Centre whether it had served show-cause notice on former board members of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) before reconstituting it with new members.

A division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice R.S. Endlaw directed the government to reply by Tuesday if the decision to dissolve the civic body was conveyed to the four petitioners, including former Congress legislator Tajdar Babar, who were excluded from the reconstituted body.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Babar and three others challenging the home ministry's Sep 5 notification dissolving and reconstituting the NDMC by removing them and two other officers.

The ministry, through it notification, had asked the civic body to replace its members Babar, Ashok Ahuja, Suka Ram and I.A. Siddique with Karan Singh Tanwar, B.S. Bhati, Anita Arya and Abdul Rashid Ansari.

The ministry had blamed the former council of "persistently making default in the performance of the duties resulting in personnel mismanagement, power revenue losses and illegal squatting in the capital".

In the petition filed through advocate K.C. Mittal, the four expelled members contended that their term of office was to expire only Jan 17, 2016, but they were removed illegally and prematurely without authority of law.

Mittal said the Centre's action was highly contemptuous, illegal and arbitrary, apart from being motivated and malicious as it took the decision to remove the four members without serving them with individual show-cause notice or any other communication.

They also challenged the four new appointments, saying it was all done in utter haste Sep 6 and sought that the same be set aside.

Of the 13 members of the council, the four petitioners were removed and two officers changed.

The remaining seven members, including Lok Sabha BJP member from New Delhi Meenakshi Lekhi and Gole Market legislator Arvind Kejriwal, continue as they were.