The Delhi High Court ruled on Monday that Sandeep Kumar, a former member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), should be subject to significant fees after he filed a suit asking Arvind Kejriwal to be removed from his position as chief minister.
Judge Subramonium Prasad pointed out that a division bench led by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan had previously decided cases of a similar nature. He criticised the petitioner, saying, “You should be subjected to heavy costs.”
According to Justice Prasad, this request should be brought before the Acting Chief Justice’s bench as well, since comparable cases had previously been heard and dismissed by the division bench.
He said that this appeal, made by the former AAP leader, was merely a petition for public relations purposes.
The case is now scheduled to be heard on Wednesday, April 10, before the Acting Chief Justice bench.
As a result, the High Court has denied the third plea that called for Kejriwal to be removed from his position as Delhi Chief Minister.
A week prior, the court turned down an additional Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Vishnu Gupta, the president of the Hindu Sena, demanding the AAP chief be removed from his position as chief minister.
The court had declared that Kejriwal will personally decide if he would stay on as the national capital’s chief minister. The High Court was quoted as saying, “Personal interest has to be subordinated to national interest at times, but that is his personal call.”
On March 28, the High Court dismissed a PIL that Surjit Singh Yadav, a resident of Delhi, had filed. The bench, which consists of Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora and Acting Chief Justice Manmohan, made it clear that it will not engage in political posturing.
The bench had stated, “It is for the other wings of the government to examine in accordance with the law.”
In his plea, former AAP MLA Sandeep Kumar said that Kejriwal’s ongoing hold on the chief minister’s position violated the people of Delhi’s right to life and created constitutional issues.
Kejriwal is presently being held in judicial custody at the Tihar Jail in Delhi through April 15. In the excise policy case, the Enforcement Directorate had detained the AAP chairman on March 21.
Kejriwal was identified by the federal authorities as the scam’s “kingpin” and “key conspirator” in court.
