‘Highly misconceived’: Delhi HC dismisses plea to disqualify Kejriwal from polls, de-register AAP

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a public interest litigation demanding that Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Durgesh Pathak be disqualified from contesting elections in view of a judge having initiated criminal contempt proceedings against them, Live Law reported.

The petitioner contended that a May 14 order by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma initiating contempt action showed that the AAP leaders did not hold allegiance to the Constitution.

A division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Tejas Karia said that the petition was “highly misconceived”, adding that the contention was “absolutely baseless and bereft of any consideration,” Live Law reported.

The petitioner also demanded that the Election Commission be directed to de-register the AAP. The High Court rejected this prayer as well, holding that the poll panel does not have the power to review its order granting registration to a political party, the legal news outlet reported.

The court noted that the Election Commission can only de-register a party in three exceptional circumstances: if the registration was found to have been obtained through fraud, if the party changes its nomenclature in a manner that does not conform with the Representation of the People Act or if the party states before the Election Commission that it does not...

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