New Delhi, July 17 (UNI) The Election Commission on Tuesday decided to conduct the final hearing on the disqualification of 20 AAP MLAs on the office-of-profit case on July 23, by rejecting their plea to cross-examine the petitioner.
“The Commission is of the view that there is no occasion and need for the cross-examination of the petitioner as he is not a witness in the present proceedings and the respondents have failed to make out a case for calling any witness as pleaded in their applications. Therefore, this Commission dismisses the Applications under consideration”, said the Commission in its 70 page order.
The Commission also said that it is necessary to reaffirm to the respondents that to ascertain the facts of this case, the Commission will not rely on any statement or documents filed by the petitioner not borne out from the records of the case, as the Commission will only rely on documents submitted by the concerning officers of General Administration Department, Government of NCT, Delhi (GNCTD).
The Commission added that the demand by AAP MLAs to call GNCTD officers is “nothing but tactics employed to drag and delay the matter”.
“The prayer to call GNCTD officers for proving government records and documents which GNCTD has submitted to the Commission upon being called by the Commission in exercise of its power under Section 146(2) is nothing but tactics employed to drag and delay this matter”, it said.
The Commission has started fresh hearing on May 17. However, while ascertaining their position on the case, the Commission further said that “in order to follow principles of natural justice in letter and spirit, multiple opportunities were accorded to the respondents (AAP MLAs) to offer their comments on these documents. After receipt of these documents the respondents did not deny or challenge any single page from the 2500 pages of documents received from GNCTD and rather relied upon the same in their second reply on June 24”.
The Delhi High Court on March 23 set aside the Election Commission’s order to disqualify AAP MLAs for allegedly holding office-of-profit and asked the poll body to conduct the hearing afresh.
While disqualifying the MLAs, the Commission had said that the appointment of MLAs as Parliamentary secretaries of Ministers would come under the purview of office-of-profit.
UNI KNA SHK 1725