Last year, Arvind Kejriwal and his ministers held protest at Lt Governor's office for almost two weeks.
Highlights
- Petition requested to put out guidelines against CM from going on strikes
- Constitutional crisis due to protest by CM inside LG's office: Petitioner
- AAP's predilection for hunger strikes, sit-ins have not waned since 2015
A petition asking that Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, be stopped from going on hunger strikes was dismissed by the Supreme Court today.
The petition had requested the court to put out guidelines against a chief minister resorting to such acts of protest.
"The Delhi chief minister goes on hunger strike. You (petitioner) want the Supreme Court to stop it. Dismissed," said Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi.
Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s predilection for hunger strikes and sit-ins have not waned after the party came to power in Delhi in 2015.
Last year in June, the Chief Minister and three of his ministers had camped at Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal's office for almost two weeks to urge him to intervene in what they alleged was non-cooperation by officers against the Delhi government.
A petitioner, Hari Nath Ram, had approached the Supreme Court saying a constitutional crisis had been created due to "the unconstitutional and illegal" protest by the chief minister inside the LG's office. He had urged the top court to issue directions to the Chief Minister and the AAP government to discharge their responsibilities instead of wasting taxpayers'money.
"There is no statutory or legal provision empowering the chief minster to go on the strike. It is a complete violation of ministerial responsibility," said Hari Nath Ram's petition.