HC to hear plea seeking invalidation of Assembly session

A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court (HC) will hear a plea, on Thursday, that sought to restrain the state from going ahead with its two-day Assembly session, which the government stated was in continuation with the Monsoon session that commenced on June 9, 2016.

The petitioner sought “directions to the Lieutenant Governor (LG), Delhi High Court, or any other competent authority, to declare the sixth part of the fourth session of the Sixth Legislative Assembly of the National Capital territory of Delhi illegal and invalid, with all its consequential effects”.

The petition brings to spotlight the ongoing drama about the long-drawn Monsoon Session and the AAP government’s politics. Experts said the Monsoon Session may have been prolonged as part of a strategy employed by the ruling party to ensure that the government does not require permission from the LG to begin a new session.

The plea for urgent hearing was raised on Wednesday through Advocate R P Luthra, who urged the court to declare the two-day Assembly Session “illegal and invalid”. Luthra submitted that when the sixth segment of the ongoing fourth session of the Assembly commenced, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government did not invite newly-appointed LG Anil Baijal and thus dishonoured its office.   

The petitioner further submitted that it appeared as though “the present session has been called at the instruction of the Chief Minister, with ulterior motives for having wrongful gains”.

“As per the Constitution, the first session after general elections or the beginning of a new year has to be addressed by the LG. It seems that by not calling off the session officially, the government is ensuring that they never have to seek the LG’s permission to hold a session,” said GC Malhotra, Former Secretary General, Lok Sabha. He added that the session was in violation of the Constitution and any resolutions passed during the session can be challenged in the court of law.

Meanwhile, an official said: “The LG’s address will be held during the fresh session of the year, which will be held in March.”

As per the official summon sent by the Delhi Assembly, the session held on Tuesday and Wednesday by the Delhi government was part of the Monsoon Session called by the AAP government in June. “Hon’ble members are informed that the sixth part of fourth session of Sixth Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi will commence on Tuesday, January 17, 2017, at 2 pm in the Assembly Hall, Old Secretariat, Delhi,” the summon read.

Former Secretary, Delhi Assembly, SK Sharma said the lack of address and the prolonging of the session suggested a failure of the Constitutional machinery. “This suggests that by not prorogating a session, the government can hold multiple sessions without seeking the LG’s permission and, at the same time, conduct all the proceedings of the Assembly in just one session,” he said.