Jasmine Shah's Removal, Sealing Office, Pending Before President, High Court Told

The issue of Jasmine Shah's removal as vice chairperson of Delhi government's think tank Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi (DDCD) is pending before the President of India, the Delhi High Court was informed on Tuesday.

Mr Shah was removed from the post for allegedly using the public office for personal political purposes. The office premises were sealed by the state planning department following an order passed by Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on November 17.

The high court was told by the LG and Director (Planning) of the Delhi government, through an affidavit, that the LG referred the matters to the President under Article 239AA (4) of the Constitution due to a difference of opinion with the Chief Minister on Mr Shah's removal.

Since the matter related to Mr Shah's removal is pending before the President for a decision, it will be prudent for all parties to the case not to take any further action on the issue, they argued.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, despite being aware that the matter was now required to be decided by the President, issued an order on December 8 directing the Planning Department to immediately recall the order by which Mr Shah, an AAP leader, was restrained from discharging his duties at the DDCD, the affidavit said.

The submissions were made in a common preliminary counter affidavit filed by the LG, Director (Planning) of the Delhi government, and Sub Divisional Magistrate (Civil Lines) in the high court in a pending petition of Mr Shah challenging the November 17 order restraining him from discharging his duties as the vice chairperson of DDCD, and sealing his office.

The matter came up before Justice Prathiba M Singh, who listed it for hearing on January 9, 2023.

"It is submitted that the matter is presently under consideration by the President of India in accordance with the procedure enshrined under Article 239AA of the Constitution and until the President of India returns a decision upon the matter, it would be prudent for all the parties before this court to take no further action in the matter," the affidavit, filed under the signatures of Director (Planning), said.

It said while the matter stood referred to the President, the Chief Minister, by way of the December 8 order, proceeded to summarily decide it on merits despite being aware that the issue was now required to be decided by the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The affidavit was filed pursuant to the high court's November 28 direction asking the parties to file their response to Mr Shah's petition.

The DDCD vice chairperson enjoys the rank of a Cabinet minister and is entitled to the perks and privileges of a Delhi government minister like official accommodation, office, vehicle, and personal staff.

Mr Shah has challenged the November 17 order issued by the Director (Planning) on the LG's request to Chief Minister Kejriwal to remove him from the post of vice chairperson of the DDCD, and pending such a decision, to restrain him from using his office space and withdraw the staff and facilities assigned to him.

Thereafter, on November 26, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, the minister in-charge, made a noting upon the file concerning the removal of Mr Shah and disagreed with the opinion expressed by the LG and forwarded it to the Chief Minister, who is also the Chairperson of DDCD, the affidavit said.

The Chief Minister on November 26 approved the noting and the order directing the Planning Department to rescind the two orders of November 17, 2022 with immediate effect and issue orders to de-seal the office of the vice chairperson of DDCD, it added.

The affidavit said that Article 239AA (4) of the Constitution provides that in case of a difference of opinion between the LG and his ministers, the LG shall refer such matters to the President and shall act accordingly to the decision given by the President.

"In exercise of such authority vested in him by Article 239AA (4) of the Constitution, the LG, in terms of difference of opinion expressed by the Deputy CM and approved by the CM, referred the matter to the President on November 30," it said.

It further said that the LG reiterated that the matter stood referred to the President and no further action could be taken on the matter by any authority.

In his petition, Mr Shah has submitted that the orders passed against him are a "gross abuse of power and process". He has said the order was "wholly without any merit, an instance of colourable exercise of authority, illegal, ex facie malafide and patently lacking in jurisdiction".

He has also assailed the order on locking his office and withdrawing all facilities as well as privileges.

The DDCD offices were sealed on the night of November 17 for preventing its alleged "misuse by Shah for political gains". The sealing exercise was undertaken by the Planning Department of the Delhi government.

In his petition before the high court, Mr Shah has said in the absence of any directions from the Delhi cabinet and the Chief Minister -- the competent authorities, the orders passed against him "suffer from a patent want of jurisdiction". He also said there was no allegation of misuse of public funds or corruption in the complaint against him, and the only grievance was that he expressed his political view on certain television debates.

"The sole object and purpose of the impugned orders is to victimise the petitioner for expressing his political views in television debates which were not to the liking of the complainant, Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, Member of Parliament of the BJP from West Delhi, and respondent No.3 (LG) who acted on a complaint made by the former with alacrity, in a pre-meditated manner," the petition said.

It asserted the vice chairperson of DDCD is appointed only to advise the government about public policy reform as an honorary member and cannot be regarded as a part of the permanent Executive/civil service/ bureaucracy of the State and the conditions of service do not prohibit him from associating with any political party or espousing political opinions. "The petitioner's appearance on television debates is within the lawful exercise of his fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression," the plea said, while also clarifying that Mr Shah is not a spokesperson for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

"The petitioner who has stellar academic credentials and extensive national experience in the area of public policy reform has not misused/abused the office of Vice Chairperson, DDCD in any manner whatsoever and the allegations levelled by the complainant and findings returned in the impugned order are entirely baseless and misconceived," the petition said. Mr Shah was behind the Delhi government's ambitious electric vehicle policy. At the DDCD, he was involved in drawing blueprints of various initiatives of the city government, including its food truck policy, electronic city, and shopping festival.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)