Big setback for AAP as Delhi HC stays re-election for MCD Standing Committee

The Delhi High Court on Saturday stayed the re-election of the six members of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

The bench of Justice Gaurang Kanth issued a stay on the notice issued by Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi calling for the proposed re-election. “This court prima facie finds that an election has been conducted though the result has not been declared yet. No purpose will be served by conducting a fresh election,” said the bench in its order.

The court has also accepted the argument raised in the petition filed by BJP Councillors Shikha Roy and Kamaljeet Sherawat, which had argued that the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act does not allow the Mayor to stop the results of the election from being declared, even though the Mayor acts as the returning officer.

“From perusal of regulation 51, it is nowhere reflected that Respondent no 4 (Mayor/Returning officer) has authority to declare an election of the standing committee as null and void,” noted the judge, adding that it was “prima facie clear ” that the election has been conducted and counting of votes has been done, even though the result has not been declared so far.

The high court has for now issued a stay on the notification for re-election on February 27 and has issued notices to Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena and Mayor Shelly Oberoi to file their responses to the petitions. The hearing will now take place on March 27.

The court has further directed that all ballot papers, CCTV footage of the election and the House proceedings, and “all other related material” will be kept preserved for three months by the Municipal Secretary and the Mayor, in case the Court may need to consider the evidence.

In their argument on behalf of Mayor Shalley Oberoi, senior advocates Dayan Krishnan and Rahul Mehra argued that the violence in the house and the behaviour of the BJP Councilors was the reason for calling a re-election.

Meanwhile, the BJP on Saturday claimed that three candidates each of the saffron party and the AAP were to be “elected” as members of the MCD’s standing committee, based on calculations by technical experts a day prior, and the mayor should accept this result and announce it.

Addressing a press conference, Virendra Sachdeva, the Delhi BJP’s working president, alleged that the re-election called by Mayor Shelly Oberoi to elect six members of the standing committee was “undemocratic” and “unconstitutional”.

Reacting to the Delhi HC’s order, Mayor Oberoi said, “One vote was invalid in the February 24 election but the BJP kept on saying that the vote is valid. Because of this, the counting procedure was not completed.

“Declaration of result by the expert was also invalid because they were supposed to assist me and not declare the result. As per the Act, only the presiding officer can declare the result after form 4 is filled. I did not fill out any forms, so nobody else was supposed to announce the result. I went to the police and have registered 3 FIRs,” Shelly Oberoi added.

Earlier on Friday, hours after the municipal House was rocked by fresh clashes between the councillors of the BJP and the AAP, Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi announced that the elections for the same will be held on February 22 and added until then the house will remain adjourned.